AGCOM, Italy’s media and communications authority, has warned against the use of tipsters and celebrity endorsements to promote online betting markets and gambling brands.
The warning was issued to the 46 licensed operators that form Italy’s new online gambling regime, overseen by the ADM, Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency.
Operators have been issued new guidelines governing the marketing and content of safer and responsible gambling campaigns.
AGCOM will review campaigns to ensure that responsible gambling messaging cannot be used as disguised brand promotion, including the use of celebrities to endorse a brand as a safe gambling platform.
“Operators should avoid using celebrities or testimonials already associated with their commercial brand,” AGCOM noted.
As Italy’s media authority, AGCOM views the use of celebrity endorsements or associated content as presenting a “risk of normalising online gambling” and undermining the objective of promoting safer gambling to consumers.
The warning was further reinforced by AGCOM stating that it will undertake a sweep of social media platforms to tackle the proliferation of betting tipsters claiming to offer winning strategies or predictive systems.
AGCOM recognises that tipsters are not necessarily directly connected with betting brands when promoting their content.
As such, it reiterates previous demands that online media platforms undertake greater scrutiny in restricting advertising linked to illegal or unauthorised gambling operators.
The new guidelines outline that responsible gambling campaigns must not contain commercial slogans or promotional taglines associated with the brand, as “the prevention message must take precedence over the operator’s identity”.
In other areas, AGCOM discourages the use of ‘short-format advertising’ – such as billboards, short videos and L-shaped TV graphics – arguing that these formats do not provide sufficient space or time to communicate meaningful gambling-harm prevention messages.
AGCOM underlines that its review of safer gambling campaigns is aligned with the Nine Risk Indicators developed under the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), providing a specific framework of guidance to identify potentially problematic gambling activity.
Dignity Decree still stands
In its remit as Italy’s media authority, AGCOM continues to uphold the advertising restrictions of the Dignity Decree of 2018, which imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising and sponsorship across Italian media and sport.
Safer and responsible gambling communications remain among the limited forms of gambling-related messaging permitted under the Dignity Decree – with AGCOM stressing that such campaigns cannot be disguised as brand promotions.
Though intensely debated, the Meloni government has yet to confirm the repeal or amendment of the Dignity Decree’s gambling advertising ban, which remains in force as Italy continues to review the distinction between promotional and responsible gambling communications.
Attention now turns to Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, who is tasked with finalising terms of the government’s football revival proposal, which seeks to introduce a 2% levy on football betting revenues to provide new funding for Italian football.
Negotiations are now against the clock, as Abodi seeks to settle the final terms with Italian football and government stakeholders before submitting the proposal to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for consideration within the Budget 2027.
The outcome will carry further significance for the gambling sector, as the government weighs demands for new betting duties against the continued restrictions of the Dignity Decree and the wider reorganisation of Italy’s gambling market.
