Agcom proposes guidelines barring operator infotainment sites from gambling bonuses

Italy's Agcom has published proposed communication guidelines for infotainment sites connected to gambling operators, according to the draft decision published on 22 October 2026 and. The document will be subject to a 30-day consultation with stakeholders before final publication.

Under the draft, a central requirement is that each site demonstrate autonomous and continuous activity that does not represent, as the decision puts it, "una funzione accessoria, strumentale o di acquisizione di traffico rispetto all'offerta di gioco". Each site must carry a specific brand not connected to gambling products and services, and must not in any way facilitate access to the operator's gambling offer, or that of its corporate group, through banners, hyperlinks or redirects.

As a clear distinction from current rules, odds, predictions, jackpots, bonuses, betting slips, interfaces or prize mechanisms, and other elements connected to the gambling experience, may not appear on such sites.

The brand of an infotainment site may not reproduce the lettering, colour range, payoff, figurative symbol or other visual identity elements of the gambling brand. Where names are similar, the element distinguishing the infotainment site's name from the gambling site's name must be graphically highlighted and must not be placed in a subordinate position. The distinction must be clear, failing which the site will not be excluded from the advertising ban.

The exclusion from the advertising ban will not apply where Agcom assesses that, taken as a whole, the infotainment site's communication amounts to "un aggancio pubblicitario all'offerta di gioco". The authority may request documentation on ownership and registration of trademarks, the organisational structure of the publishing activity, traffic flows and the economic relationships with the gambling activity.