Gambling advertising to be immediatelly terminated in Italy

The 7th of August marked an historic date for gambling advertising in Italy. The Italian Parliament went guns blazing on all forms of gambling ads for both betting and casinos, by passing a new proposal with 155 votes in favor of banning advertising and 125 against. Following the Parliament's decision all gambling ads will be immediately removed from the radio, TV and the Internet when the law goes into full effect.

The law also includes the banning of sponsorships that are provided by gambling companies. Surprisingly, or perhaps not quite so according to cynics, the national lottery will be protected from the new law. Current Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio is the politician behind the new framework that is part of a bigger set of laws, called the Dignity Decree that was first introduced in June 2018. Di Maio took pride in the new legislative change by pointing out that the advertising framework proposed is not a result of political interests and lobbies but an act of protection towards problem gamblers and minorities. This kind of framework hasn't seen Italy's political scene for years now according to Di Maio.

January 1st 2019 will be the date the new law will go into full effect. The framework has taken into consideration all contracts that extend past the announced date of implementation, giving them the chance to fully comply to the new law by June 30th 2019. Despite the extension, companies like Betway with their three-year sponsorship contract with Serie A club AS Roma are likely to face difficulties.