Antitrust, Aci under investigation for alleged abuse of dominance October 19, 2023 3

Aci, Automobile Club of Italyended at crosshairs of antitrust law. In fact, the Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation to establish alleged abuse of dominant position in the market for organizing non-competitive automotive events.

In more detail, in the opinion of the Antimonopoly Authority, the Automobile Club Italia-Aci, Aci Sport SpA and Club Aci Storico would accept conduct aimed at obstructing or obstructing the activities of sports promotion bodiesamateur sports associations and car clubs to organize non-competitive events and activities in order to expand their position in this market and increase the number of their branches/members.

The Competition and Markets Authority says the strategy used by Aci, “it will consist of sending reports to the authorities responsible for control, such as prefectures, police departments and/or municipal authorities, shortly before the start of recreational activities to inform that these activities will not be subject to the prior opinion of the ASI, not provided for by current legislation and which would occur if technical sports rules were not observed.“.

This strategy has been used for many years. In fact, the Authority adds that “such misuse of its regulatory and coordinating powers would have affected numerous amateur motorsport events organized in various Italian regions since at least 2016, changing market dynamics.“.

Since the beginning of the investigation, representatives of the department carried out checks at the offices of the Automobile Club Italia-Aci, Aci Sport SpA and Club Aci Storico with the help of the Special Anti-Monopoly Unit of the Guardia Fiscal. The investigation began following a series of reports received by antitrust authorities over the past year.