Italy Launches Media Review of Gambling Communications Divide

(AsiaGameHub) –   Italian regulators are continuing to focus on the reforms required to reclassify gambling advertising, marketing, customer communications, and incentives.

This week, AGCOM’s media division confirmed the launch of a new consultation centered on “responsible gambling communications.”

The consultation follows a public comment period that received over 20 submissions from stakeholders, who emphasized the need for clarity in how gambling licensees communicate promotions and updates to consumers.

Marketing communications and interactions have been a gray area since Italy’s near-total ban on gambling advertising took effect in 2019, under the highly contested Dignity Decree of the short-lived Lega-5Star coalition government.

While AGCOM stresses the review does not modify the terms of the Dignity Decree itself, the regulator is working to establish clearer rules ahead of any broader reform of Italy’s advertising framework.

Introduced in 2019, the Dignity Decree prohibits nearly all gambling advertising and sponsorship activities across television, radio, digital media, sports partnerships, and social platforms. The restrictions also extend to indirect promotions, affiliate marketing, and engagement-led campaigns.

At the heart of AGCOM’s review is the question of customer engagement and what differentiates “informational” from “promotional” communication.

Operators continue to seek clarity on whether bonuses, odds boosts, VIP programs, retention messaging, influencer campaigns, and affiliate activities violate the existing regulatory framework.

Clearer boundaries for gambling marketing communications are needed, as AGCOM remains involved in high-profile multi-million-euro legal disputes with Meta, Google, and YouTube—cases that Italian courts are increasingly aiming to resolve decisively.

AGCOM is expected to tighten its interpretation of any communication that could indirectly incentivize gambling participation.

The review comes amid mounting political pressure to revisit the Dignity Decree as Italy advances broader gambling reforms, including new online concessions and discussions about restoring betting sponsorships in football. Sports Minister Andrea Abodi has been tasked with negotiating these matters with Italian football authorities and the Olympic Committee.

ADM Steps Up Enforcement

Alongside AGCOM’s crackdown on gambling communications, Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) continues to intensify online enforcement against illegal operators.

This week, ADM added 146 more domains to its blacklist of unauthorized gambling websites, pushing the number of blocked sites in 2026 to over 500.

Since 2019, Italian authorities have blocked more than 12,000 illegal gambling portals.

This dual enforcement strategy underscores Italy’s increasingly assertive stance on gambling oversight, as regulators strive to balance consumer protection, black-market suppression, and growing pressure to modernize one of Europe’s strictest advertising regimes.