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The article investigates the role of mafias in the gambling sector in Italy. The gambling sector is a field of business that has recently undergone radical and decisive changes, affected above all by a process of accelerated legalisation that has made it one of the most dynamic legal gambling markets in the world in terms of volume of money gambled. Although gambling has become legal, the demand for illegal gambling services has not definitely disappeared. In the article we first reconstruct the business chain of the gambling industry, identifying both the most relevant aspects of its recent development and the various actors working in this business sector. Based on some judicial documents, we then offer a picture of the role of the mafias in the gambling sector, focusing on the aspects that most attract mafia interests or make it vulnerable to predatory action by mafias. Finally, we present a particularly significant case study of the action of an entrepreneur close to the mafias in the field of gambling activities relying on the consultation of court documents and interviews with qualified witnesses. The emerging picture highlights how the criminal rise is being combined with the process of “regulated opening” of the gambling market, which is being transformed relatively quickly from a black market to a fully legal one.

This paper examines the age at retirement for men and women in Italy. Despite the expansion of women’s educational attainments, they still display lower employment rates, are frequently engaged in involuntary part-time jobs and have more fragmented careers. As a consequence, the mean age at which women receive a pension is higher than that of men. Using Labour Force Survey (2006 and 2012), the authors test the hypothesis that women’s higher age at retirement is determined by a selection bias towards more educated and work oriented women. A Heckman selection model has been developed. Results show that the main disadvantage is suffered by women with medium and low levels of education who show the highest estimated age at retirement, whereas higher educated women retire on average before men with the same level of education. The authors argue that pension policies, without interventions in the field of work-life balance policies, end up penalizing women with lower levels of education.

Civil society actors have always been crucial players in the development of welfare systems. Far before the appearance of the welfare state, the provision of services to those in need was the domain of charities and guilds, and later on of the mutual aid organizations related to the labour movement. To-gether with providing services, civil society actors have exerted political pressure on the state, demanding an enlargement of social rights or challenging the principles of public intervention. Such a relevant role became even more pivotal after the '70s, when the welfare mix model paved the way for the entrance of third sector organizations into public service provision and governance processes. Within this scenario, this article aims to develop a historically-based conceptual framework, through which the huge heterogeneity of civil society actors and functions can be analyzed. The possibility of performing several roles represents an opportunity for civil society actors, but at the same times engenders contradictions and trade-offs for social movements and the third sector.