ADM caps paid social and digital spend at 35% of responsible-gambling campaign budgets

Italy's ADM has sent online gambling concessionaires the programme document for responsible-gambling information campaigns for 2026, drawn up by a government commission set up at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Under the document, paid distribution on social media and digital channels may not exceed 35% of each campaign's total budget, and planning must ensure an adequate presence on generalist media including television, radio and press.

The document implements legislative decree 25 March 2024, no. 41, which requires online concessionaires to allocate each year 0.2% of net revenue, up to a maximum of €1m, to information campaigns and responsible-communication initiatives. ADM said the guidance covers concession years already past, including 2025, the current year and 2027. The Presidency of the Council's Department for Information and Publishing sent the guidance to the Games Directorate on 30 September; it has annual validity and remains in force until a new policy act is adopted.

The campaigns are to have a preventive and educational function and must promote greater awareness of the risks of unbalanced gambling, encouraging informed and responsible behaviour. Four themes are set out: financial management and economic risks, gambling dependence, the potential and limits of protection tools, and the dangers of the illegal offer. Messages must be exclusively informative and educational, without promoting gambling directly or indirectly, in line with the prohibition in the Decreto Dignità.

On the economic side, initiatives must make clear that gambling is not a source of income or an investment, countering false expectations of winning and the belief that losses can be recovered. The document also covers recognition of signs of problematic gambling, such as increased frequency of play and difficulty in stopping, and knowledge of protection tools including spending limits, self-limitation and self-exclusion; it states that these measures can help reduce exposure to risk but do not eliminate the possibility of negative consequences. A further area concerns illegal gambling, with attention to the absence of guarantees on payments and data protection, the lack of control tools and possible links to criminal activity.

To reach a broad and differentiated audience, the commission recommends simple, clear and concrete language based on objective data and a strictly informative approach. On planning, besides the 35% cap on paid social and digital investment, the document recommends avoiding a predominant concentration on media characterised by algorithmic profiling or highly personalised modes of use; the same channels may still be used for non-sponsored information content. The document also cites AGCOM resolution 200/26/CONS, which supplements guidelines for campaigns against gambling disorders and sets criteria on audiences, references to brands and operators, and the use of testimonials and influencers.

Concessionaires must send the Department for Information and Publishing and ADM an annual analytical report on the initiatives carried out. Besides spending, they must give results in terms of message dissemination, using metrics such as gross and net contacts where available, impressions and conversion rate. The data will be used to assess campaign effectiveness and to prepare the programme document for the following year.