Joined Cases C-728/22 to C-730/22, Anib and Others: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 20 March 2025 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato – Italy) – Associazione Nazionale Italiana Bingo – Anib, Play Game Srl (C-728/22), Associazione Concessionari Bingo – Ascob Srl and Others (C-729/22), Coral Srl (C-730/22) v Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (References for a preliminary ruling – Directive 2014/23/EU – Concessions for the activity of managing games and collecting bets – Article 43 – Modification of a concession during its performance – National legislation providing for the payment by concessionaires of a monthly fee payable in respect of the extension of the duration of the validity of the concessions – Compatibility – Article 5 – Obligation on Member States to confer on the contracting authority the power to initiate, at the request of a concessionaire, a procedure to modify the operating conditions of a concession, where unforeseeable events not attributable to the parties have a significant impact on the operating risk of the concession – None)
Date: 2025-03-20
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: award of contract, equal treatment, freedom to provide services, game of chance, principle of legal certainty, right of establishment, service concession, tendering








C_202502627EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/2627


19.5.2025






Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 20 March 2025 (requests for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato – Italy) – Associazione Nazionale Italiana Bingo – Anib, Play Game Srl (C-728/22), Associazione Concessionari Bingo – Ascob Srl and Others (C-729/22), Coral Srl (C-730/22) v Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli


(Joined Cases C-728/22 to C-730/22,
                (1)
Anib and Others)

(References for a preliminary ruling - Directive 2014/23/EU - Concessions for the activity of managing games and collecting bets - Article 43 - Modification of a concession during its performance - National legislation providing for the payment by concessionaires of a monthly fee payable in respect of the extension of the duration of the validity of the concessions - Compatibility - Article 5 - Obligation on Member States to confer on the contracting authority the power to initiate, at the request of a concessionaire, a procedure to modify the operating conditions of a concession, where unforeseeable events not attributable to the parties have a significant impact on the operating risk of the concession - None)
(C/2025/2627)
Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Consiglio di Stato

Parties to the main proceedings


Appellants: Associazione Nazionale Italiana Bingo – Anib, Play Game Srl (C-728/22), Associazione Concessionari Bingo – Ascob Srl and Others (C-729/22), Coral Srl (C-730/22)

Respondents: Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli

Interested and intervening parties: B.E. Srl, Play Game Srl, Play Line Srl Unipersonale, BC, BD, EF, GL, HU

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts,
must be interpreted as being applicable ratione temporis to concession contracts, within the meaning of Article 5(1)(b) thereof, which were awarded before the entry into force of Directive 2014/23, but which were extended by legislative provisions which introduced, as consideration, (i) an obligation incumbent on the concessionaires concerned to pay a monthly fee, the amount of which was subsequently increased, (ii) a prohibition banning the concessionaires concerned from transferring their premises, and, (iii) an obligation incumbent on the concessionaires concerned to accept those extensions in order to be authorised to participate in any procedure to be awarded those concessions again in the future, to the extent that those legislative provisions themselves entered into force after the deadline for transposing Directive 2014/23. In that situation, Articles 49 and 56 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that they are not applicable.










2.


Article 43 of Directive 2014/23,
must be interpreted as precluding the national legislature from being able to extend unilaterally, by legislative provisions which entered into force after the deadline for transposing Directive 2014/23, the duration of the service concession and, when doing so, from being able, as consideration, (i) to increase the amount of a flat-rate fee payable by all concessionaires concerned, irrespective of their turnover, (ii) to maintain a prohibition banning the transfer of their premises and, (iii) to retain an obligation to accept those extensions in order for those concessionaires to be authorised to participate in any procedure for a new award of those concessions in the future, to the extent that those amendments, taken together, do not satisfy the conditions for the application of Article 43(1) and (2) of Directive 2014/23.










3.


Articles 5 and 43 of Directive 2014/23,
must be interpreted as not precluding the interpretation or application of national legislative rules, or practices based on those rules, that are such as to deprive the contracting authority of the power to initiate, at the request of a concessionaire, an administrative procedure aimed at modifying the conditions for the operation of the concession concerned, where unforeseeable events not attributable to the parties have a significant impact on the operating risk of that concession, for as long as those conditions persist and for the time necessary to restore, where appropriate, the initial operation conditions of the concession.






(1)  
            OJ C 94, 13.3.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2627/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)