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In those circumstances, the Tribunale amministrativo regionale per la Toscana decided to stay proceedings and refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: ‘(1) Are Articles 43 EC and 49 EC to be interpreted as in principle precluding legislation of a Member State, such as Article 88 of the [Royal Decree], under which “a permit to organise betting may be granted exclusively to persons holding a licence or authorisation issued by a Ministry or another body to which the law reserves the right to organise and manage betting, and also to persons to whom that responsibility has been entrusted by the licence-holder or by the holder of an authorisation, by virtue of such licence or authorisation”, and Article 2(2b) of Decree-Law No 40 of 25 March 2010, converted by Law No 73/2010, under which “Article 88 of the [Royal Decree], is to be interpreted as meaning that the permit provided for therein, where it is granted for commercial businesses involving gaming and the collection of bets for cash prizes, shall be deemed to be effective only after the operators of those businesses have been granted the appropriate licence to carry on such gaming and collect such bets by the [Independent Authority for the Administration of State Monopolies of the] Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs [AAMS]”? (2) Are Articles 43 EC and 49 EC to be interpreted as in principle also precluding national legislation, such as Article 38(2) of [the Bersani Decree], under which Article 1(287) of Law No 311 of 30 December 2004 [2005 Finance Law] is to be replaced by the following: “287. By measures of the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs – [AAMS] – the new rules for distributing gambling on events other than horse racing shall be laid down in accordance with the following criteria: (a) inclusion, among betting on events other than horse racing, of totalisator and fixed betting on events other than horse racing, on sports‑based pools, ‘totip’ betting and horse race betting within the meaning of paragraph 498, and any other gaming based on events other than horse racing; (b) possibility of collecting bets on events other than horse racing by operators collecting bets within a Member State of the European Union, by operators in Member States of the European Free Trade Association, and also by operators of other States, only if they satisfy the requirements of trustworthiness defined by the [AAMS]; (c) collection of bets through outlets whose principal activity is the marketing of gaming products and collection of bets through outlets whose secondary activity is the marketing of gaming products; the provision of certain types of betting can be reserved exclusively to outlets whose principal activity is the marketing of gaming products; (d) provision for the establishment of at least 7000 new outlets, at least 30% of which have as their principal activity the marketing of gaming products; (e) determination of the maximum number of outlets per municipality in proportion to the number of inhabitants and having regard to the outlets already authorised; (f) siting of outlets whose principal activity is the marketing of gaming products in municipalities with over 200000 inhabitants at a distance of not less than 800 metres from outlets already authorised and in municipalities with less than 200000 inhabitants at a distance of not less than 1600 metres from outlets already authorised; (g) siting of outlets whose secondary activity is the marketing of gaming products in municipalities with over 200000 inhabitants at a distance of not less than 400 metres from outlets already authorised and in municipalities with less than 200000 inhabitants at a distance of not less than 800 metres from outlets already authorised, without prejudice to outlets at which sports-based pools are collected on 30 June 2006; (h) allocation of outlets by means of one or more tendering procedures open to all operators, whose bid may not be less than EUR 25 000 in respect of each outlet whose principal activity is the marketing of gaming products and EUR 7 500 in respect of each outlet whose secondary activity is the marketing of gaming products; (i) acquisition of the possibility of collecting distance bets, including games of skill offering prizes in cash, subject to the payment of not less than EUR 200 000; … (l) laying down of procedures for safeguarding licensees for the collection of bets at fixed odds on events other than horse racing governed by the regulations contained in Decree No 111 of 1 March 2006 of the Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs.” The question concerning the compatibility of Article 38(2) [of the Bersani Decree] with the abovementioned principles of Community law relates solely to the parts of that provision in which: (a) there is a general tendency to protect licences issued before the legal framework was amended; (b) obligations are introduced to open new outlets at a certain distance from those already authorised which could ultimately ensure de facto the maintenance of pre-existing commercial positions. The question further relates to the general interpretation placed on Article 38(2) [of the Bersani Decree] by the [AAMS] by inserting in licensing agreements (Article 23(3)) a clause relating to withdrawal of the licence where analogous cross-border activities are engaged in directly or indirectly; (3) If the answer is in the affirmative, that is to say that the national legislation cited in the preceding paragraphs is not manifestly contrary to Community law, is Article 49 EC also to be interpreted as meaning that, where the freedom to provide services is restricted for reasons in the public interest, consideration must be given in advance to whether sufficient account is not already taken of this public interest by the legal provisions, checks and investigations to which the service provider is subject in the State in which he is established? (4) If the answer is in the affirmative, as set out in the preceding paragraph, must the referring court take account, in the context of its examination of the proportionality of a similar restriction, of the fact that the relevant provisions of the State in which the service provider is established provide for a degree of control which is equal to or actually exceeds that of the State in which the services are provided?’