Italian telecoms regulator rails against “unlawful” advertising ban

Italian telecommunications regulator AGCOM has called on the government to drop its ban on online gambling ads, claiming it is unnecessary and has no grounding in law.

In a 31-page report, AGCOM claimed it was “not necessary” to ban online gambling ads, highlighting a 2014 EU Commission recommendation which said online gambling ads can play an “important role” in channelising consumers to licensed egaming sites.

The report, which evaluates the legal stability of the so-called “Dignity Decree”, cited recent studies which downgraded the link between problem gambling and gambling advertising

Attacking the legality of a blanket ban, AGCOM pointed to an earlier 2013 EU directive, which said: “A receiving Member State must not take any measures which would prevent the re-transmission, in its territory, of television broadcasts coming from another Member State.”

The report claimed any sort of ban would “create an obstacle” to the exercise of business activity, which is prohibited under EU law.

It also said the financial penalties used against both unlicensed and licensed operators alike added to this barrier, and did not allow Italian consumers to distinguish between the two forms of gambling.

AGCOM said any form of ban would prevent newly licensed gambling operators from competing with more established Italian facing brands. It also cited a “sharp contraction” in advertising revenues for the publishing sector as a result of the ban.

AGCOM estimated the Italian Serie A would lose €100m a year in sponsorship revenues, with a “consequent substantial penalty in terms of competitiveness” against other European leagues.

The report called for an end to the ban, instead asking for the reform of gambling advertising in five areas, including a clear distinction between licensed and unlicensed gambling.

It also recommended the Italian government distinguish between games based on the risk level of the type of game being advertised.