A grassroots movement was established to oppose the presence of slot machines and video poker games in bars across Italy, which critics say makes it easy for people to become addicted; while for bar owners affected by the economic crisis they represent an easy way to make additional money – three slot machines guarantee an additional 1,300 euros in daily profits.
A group of citizens have launched an initiative through which they try to bring new clients to those coffee shops that have abolished slot machines. They have created a website, www.senzaslot.it (“without slot machines”) where bar owners can list themselves; the SlotMob group then coordinates a series of events to promote the bars that adhere to the initiative. The slogan is: "Il caffè è più buono se il bar è SenzaSlot!" (The coffee tastes better when the bar doesn't have a slot machine).
The website lists 1,800 bars so far; 94 associations are working to support the senzaslot movement.
More than 50% of bars across the country now have slot machines available. Statistics show a rise in gambling addictions, opponents of the games say. The rise in gambling has been widely associated with Italy's crippling recession and rising unemployment rate.
The government benefits from a large amount of revenue from gambling establishments, while most illegal betting is run by the mafia.
