Italian Parliament approves gambling ad ban

The Italian Parliament has approved by a majority of 30 votes the proposal to ban all forms of gambling-related advertising and sports sponsorships starting from the start of next year. With 155 voted in favour, 125 against and one abstained, the Senate approved the Dignity Degree, which will make the path clear for the new regulation.

The ban will be applied to gambling products and services advertised on the internet, radio and television, as well as stopping clubs from obtaining gambling sponsors. The only operators exempt from the ban are the state-run national lottery and its products.

Ever since Labour Minister Luigi Di Maio started his position, he manifested his stance against gambling and said that the new regulations are set to financially cover the new national plan on gambling. “We could no longer allow citizens to be encouraged to gamble, a vice that increasingly degenerates into a real disease: in Italy there are a million people at risk, including many children,” said Di Malo after the Senate approved the Decree. He added, “I consider this rule an act of civilization that is implemented for the first time in the European Union. Finally, a record to be proud of.”

Last month, the governing body of Italy’s top soccer league, Serie A, released a statement in which it was expressed that the ban would have a significant impact on Italian football. The league believes that clubs are set to lose millions worth of sponsorships and that the new regulations would jeopardise their finances. EGBA, the body that represents privately owned European online betting and gaming operators, said to the AP that gambling operators contribute approximately 120 million euros to sponsor sports teams and leagues in the country.

Source: focusgn.com