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Sports and Gaming

Tonucci & Partners is considered one of the most active Italian law firms in the Sports and Games Law sector.

Through long-lasting consulting relationships with the National Olympic Committee (CONI) and numerous National and International Sport Federations, the Department has cultivated substantial expertise in Sports and Games Law.

The Department specializes in the following:

1. Drafting and revision of National Sport Federation (FSN) Statutes in compliance with the directives of the National Olympic Committee (CONI) and documents regulating the functions and activities of the entities operating. This activity assumed even greater importance after the enforcement of the law rules containing the directive for "CONI reorganization".
2. Drafting of internal Regulations of National Sport Federations, assistance in sport related arbitration procedures. In fact, many of the Firm's attorneys act as sport judges in different FSN. Anti-doping procedures, following the recent normative changes, are also the subject of specific services.
3. Constitution of Sports Clubs and Sports Associations; sports clubs incorporation and floating in the stock exchange market.
4. Financial support to sport clubs, purchase and sale of sports clubs shares; assistance in sport clubs adherence to national sport Federations; assistance to unrecognized sport federations in joining the International Olympic Committee.
5. Organization of meetings, conferences and sport events, including all relative agreements with international sport Federations, municipal Administrations and other Local Entities, event organizers, sponsors and TV channels in charge of broadcasting. Tonucci & Partners has provided legal support in the organization of sport events such as: the International Tennis Championships - Master Series circuit - which occurs annually in Rome, the Italian Golf Open Championships, the 1994 Rome Swimming Championships, the 1998 Davis Cup final, the 1998 Handball Championships and the 1999 Hockey on grass European Championships.
6. Assistance in tenders, auctions and public supplying of goods and/or services operated by national sport federations.
7. Assistance in Intellectual Property Rights matters related to sport events.
8. Negotiation and drafting of agreements and contracts related to the sports world (i.e.: sponsorship contracts between sport clubs and athletes, managers, trainers, transfer contracts, contracts for sport facilities management, agreements between athletes and sport proxies, etc).

The Department's activities in Sport Law are in co-ordination with services offered by other Firm's Departments. For example, the growth of Internet based activities has brought an increase in legal assistance requests from sport Federations and sport clubs for web site implementation and administration, protection of on-line Intellectual Property rights, agreements with Internet Service Providers, etc.. The Department's services are also in co-ordination with the Employment and Immigration Department (assistance with sport labor ties, immigration procedures for extra-EU sport workers, etc.).

In the Games and Gambling sector, Tonucci & Partners provides consulting on the management of the soccer betting game "Totocalcio". Moreover, following the introduction of sports betting in Italy, the Firm, under CONI's supervision and control, provided legal assistance in drafting the governmental sector's deeds of regulation. The Firm has also assisted CONI in issuing the necessary authorizations to establish and manage betting agencies.

Additionally, the Firm advised an Italian licensee regarding the introduction and management of F1 World Championship betting.

The Firm negotiated and drafted the relative agreements with the F1 board representatives on Intellectual Property Rights protection and provided legal assistance on the regulations related to the introduction of the new betting game.

Of particular mention are the Department's specialized legal services for the compliance of internet based games and sports betting with the national specific directives relating to phone and on-line stake raising relative to bets, games and gambling and to international directives, including all the effects on the Italian legal framework.

Contact the Department

For further information, please contact the Department at sport@tonucci.com

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