SPORTS BETTING

Italy – Italian Sports Minister wants to initiate talks to consider revision of betting ad ban in sports

Italy’s Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi has said spoken out on abolishing Italy’s ban on advertising and sports sponsorship by gaming companies, saying it is ‘a delicate issue that must be discussed, with extensive consultation and passing through the necessary parliamentary path.’ 

“There are different sensitivities that must be respected,” he explained. “Our country is the only one in Europe that has this type of restriction. I believe that the fundamental thing is to systematically combat illegal or irregular gambling that feeds the criminal economy. Communication makes it possible to empower, enhance the traceability of financial resources, and must give a sense of the limit, which must be regulated, of what a person can bet.”

He added: “Whether this rule is revised or not, I can make it a competitive problem. All sports clubs in Italy that cannot benefit from this opportunity from the point of view of revenues in many cases are confronted with European competitors who have full access to resources deriving from this sector. I consider it hypocritical to prohibit the right to bet and then allow parallel communication of the same sites that simply promote a web address but which inevitably leads to betting. I think we can at least talk about it.”