The Italian coalition government has introduced a blanket ban on gambling advertising to the dismay of sporting organisations in the country.
The new ban will apply to all gambling-related products and services on all media including television, websites, and radio. Sports clubs will not be able to be sponsored by the gambling industry.
It will come into effect on 1st January, 2019.
Fines of a minimum of €50,000 could be imposed for any non-compliance and the money will be donated to the fund against pathological gambling.
The Serie A league expressed “extreme worry” and said in a statement that the new rules would bring ‘competitive disadvantages to Italian clubs, diverting abroad advertising budgets aimed [Italian] teams’.
More than half of the football clubs in Serie A have sponsorship deals with gambling industry.
