Italys advertising and communications watchdog, the Communications Guarantee Authority (AGCOM), has finally determined how to enforce the nation’s prohibition on gambling advertising. The regulatory body will permit Italian media outlets to report on betting odds or prize information, and brick-and-mortar operators will be permitted to showcase their branding in storefront windows.
AGCOM’s directives, known as the Dignity Decree, were sanctioned by the Italian Council of Ministers in July 2018. The guidelines affirm that direct and indirect advertising, sponsorship, or promotional communication will be forbidden.
In addition to conventional forms of advertising, commercial communication such as product placement, distribution of branded merchandise (including competitions with branded products as prizes), advertorials, and influencer marketing are also prohibited.
The agency asserts that the move is intended to curtail gambling addiction rates and bolster player protection endeavors, particularly for susceptible groups such as individuals with gambling problems, minors, and the elderly.
Nevertheless, the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) has suggested some methods for operators to interact with their clientele. For instance, informational communications are exempt from the legislation.
This implies that information such as sports betting probabilities, accumulators, chances of winning a contest, available incentives, and minimum wagers can be disseminated to the general public through Italian media websites.
As anticipated, retail operators are permitted to display their brand names on their signs and storefronts, as well as on products offered in-store, but only if these brand names do not contain gambling inducements.
There will be exceptions for business-to-business communications, including those disseminated in professional trade publications, and corporate social responsibility communications. This means that operators can conduct campaigns about responsible gambling or provide information about legal gambling products, but only if they do not include branding or logos.
Activities that promote social or charitable projects supported by operators will also be permitted, again provided that logos do not appear.
However, steps will be taken to limit the frequency with which operators appear in internet searches for gambling. AGCOM states that operators’ websites will only appear in results when players conduct specific gambling-related searches, and licensees will not be permitted to pay to enhance their search rankings.
While the prohibition on advertising took effect on the first of January, 2019, limitations on sports sponsorships, including operational brands appearing on uniforms and advertising boards, were not enforced until the fourteenth of July. This action was designed to enable already agreed-upon arrangements to be finalized without complications.
The implementation of this prohibition coincides with a series of tax hikes in the industry. Online casinos and bingo operators now face a tax rate of twenty-five percent of total gaming earnings, while online sports betting is taxed at twenty-four percent of total gaming earnings. Land-based sports betting operators now pay twenty-two percent of total earnings, and taxes have also increased for virtual sports (twenty-two percent), video lottery terminals (six point seven five percent), and prize-based entertainment (eighteen point eight five percent).
The nation’s gambling industry has experienced a year-on-year decrease in earnings over the past two months, with revenue falling by three point seven percent in March to an estimated one hundred forty point two million euros (one hundred twenty-one point two million pounds, one hundred fifty-six point four million dollars), a consequence of declining online and land-based sports betting revenue.
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