Agcom consults on tighter rules for gambling-brand news sites and sponsorships

Italy's Agcom has opened a public consultation on changes to the exclusions from the gambling advertising ban, under resolution 234/26/CONS, dated 7 October and published on the authority's website on 22 October 2026. The changes are proposed and subject to consultation, not in force. The proposal concerns paragraph 7 of the guidelines approved by resolution 132/19/CONS. Annex A contains the text of the amendments, while Annex B sets out how to take part in the consultation, including the submission of contributions, requests for a hearing and the handling of confidential information.

The proposal keeps the possibility of excluding from the advertising ban the promotion of activities other than gambling that are run under a brand also linked to gambling, provided the subject of the message is unambiguous and no elements evocative of gambling appear, except the mere name of the provider. To benefit from the exclusion, conditions on the autonomy of the activity and on how it is presented in advertising would have to be met cumulatively. A message that is formally compliant could still fall outside the exclusion if it created an advertising link to the gambling offer. The scope is limited to promoting additional activities through brands that also identify gambling, not to general requirements for any sports information site.

Under Annex A, the activity other than gambling would have to be carried out effectively and on a stable basis, with continuity and regularity, and have its own organisational set-up, resources and production processes. It could not be an accessory or instrumental function, or one for acquiring traffic for the gambling offer. A specific trademark would be required, registered for goods and services classes not connected to gambling products and services.

For activities consisting of providing information or editorial content, the proposal sets further requirements: registration in the Register of Communication Operators where the conditions apply, an identified responsible director, an identifiable editorial staff, an effective and verifiable frequency of updates, and original content. Sites that state they are not newspapers because they lack periodicity could not invoke the exclusion.

The activity would also have to avoid carrying, in any section or function, tools that allow or facilitate access to gambling by the same entity or entities in the same group. The list includes hyperlinks, redirects, banners, promotional codes, shared login credentials, registration or single-account systems, prize promotions and other means with the same function. The text also includes in the requirement a ban on carrying responsible-gambling initiatives referred to in article 15, paragraphs 2 and 3, of legislative decree 41/2024.

On visual identity, the communication would have to show the specific form of the additional activity. Lettering, colour range, payoff, figurative symbols or other elements of the gambling brand's visual identity could not be reproduced. Where the name shared elements with the gambling operator's name, the distinctive part of the alternative activity would have to have characters at least equal in size, weight and colour contrast to the shared component, and could not be placed in a subordinate graphic position. The message would have to identify explicitly the good or service promoted; display of the brand alone, without indication of the additional activity, would not fall within the exclusion.

The proposed limits also cover the content of communications. Odds, predictions, jackpots, bonuses, betting slips, interfaces or prize mechanisms could not appear, nor other references to the gambling experience. Also excluded would be the concession identification number, the institutional trademark of the Agenzia delle dogane e dei monopoli, risk warnings and other elements prescribed for communications about the gambling offer; their presence would, under the proposed text, indicate that the message relates to gambling.

Agcom proposes closer scrutiny for some media and contexts. It would examine with particular rigour communications disseminated through sponsorships, billboards, LED and other means placed in sports contexts, and the same attention would apply to paid keyword placement services relating to games, bets or operator brands, and to communications on pages of sites dedicated to offering, comparing or reviewing gambling services. The proposal does not automatically exclude these means; it provides for particularly rigorous examination in the overall assessment of the message.

A closing clause would prevent the exclusion from applying where the communication still created an advertising link to gambling, considering the message, the medium, the context of dissemination and the audience reached together. To verify the requirements, Agcom could request documentation on trademark ownership and registration, on the organisation and operation of the additional activity, and on traffic flows and economic relations with the gambling activity.

Under Annex B, interested parties may submit observations and information within a mandatory 30 days from publication of the resolution on Agcom's website, by certified email (PEC), with the subject line referring to the consultation under resolution 234/26/CONS. Contributions may include reasoned proposed amendments to the paragraphs of Annex A. Participants may request a hearing before the Direzione Servizi Media e tutela dei diritti fondamentali on the basis of a written document previously submitted; the request must be sent by PEC at least 10 days before the consultation deadline and give a contact person, telephone number and email address. Agcom will set out the arrangements in the convening notice, and the hearing may be held remotely or collectively at the authority's discretion.

Observations and documents received will be published in full and non-anonymously on Agcom's website, taking account of the accessibility level indicated by participants. Anyone seeking to withhold documents or parts of them from access must make the declaration under article 16 of the regulation approved by resolution 383/17/CONS, identifying precisely the information concerned and the reasons for confidentiality or secrecy, and attach an accessible, publishable version. The request must also explain the concrete and current harm that disclosure to third parties would cause; a generic justification will not suffice, and information without the required justifications will be treated as publishable and accessible.