AGCOM consults on updating Italy gambling advertising guidance

Davide Gallino, Head of Unit Compliance and Enforcement at the Media Services Directorate of AGCOM, reviewed Italy's ban on gambling advertising at a masterclass of the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL). AGCOM has recently opened a public consultation on updating its guidelines, with a stated deadline of 22 November.

Gallino set out that AGCOM does not regulate gambling offerings as such, but exercises its functions in commercial communication and advertising.

The ban was introduced in 2018 and gave AGCOM specific powers of supervision and intervention. Gallino recalled that the guidelines were adopted in April 2019 and said they have remained substantially unchanged in the following years. Among the issues covered in the consultation is infotainment, meaning communication that combines informative and entertainment content and may raise questions over whether it counts as prohibited advertising.

Gallino said new forms of online communication, and content not immediately recognisable as traditional advertising, have made supervision more complex. He said the authority's actions have involved not only small operators but also major players in the digital ecosystem, expressly citing Meta and Google. Particular attention went to the matter of Google and the spread of gambling advertising through YouTube, with reference to a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on platform liability. The AGCOM representative described this development as particularly significant and likely to guide the authority's future activities.

Gallino observed that the Italian ban appears on paper to be an almost total prohibition. In practice, its scope has proved less absolute than the wording of the law initially suggested. The authority's guidelines contributed to this difference by clarifying the scope of the restrictions and identifying some communication activities compatible with the legal framework.