IAP's Guggino backs advertising self-regulation for responsible gambling messages

Vincenzo Guggino of the Istituto dell'Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria (IAP) said advertising self-regulation can help responsible gambling communications explain risks without promoting gambling. He was speaking at the Fondazione FAIR Forum 2026, according to a report dated 14 October 2026.

Guggino said responsible gambling messaging sits on a boundary: on one side is the prohibition on messages that could promote gambling, and on the other the need to give information about the associated risks. He said commercial communication is not simply informative but must be persuasive while also justifying the economic investment behind it.

Guggino said the IAP is working on a regulation dedicated to responsible gambling that will take in the rules set by the regulatory framework and recent AGCOM guidance, turning them into operational provisions to be integrated into its self-regulatory code. He said that alongside prevention and monitoring, the IAP will be able to act to block messages that go beyond that limit.

He said the challenge is to produce campaigns that inform, are convincing and stay in the public's memory without becoming tools to promote gambling. The use of well-known testimonials also requires particular attention, he said, so that the memorability of a message is accompanied by respect for the limits set by player protection.

Guggino referred to cooperation between the IAP and AGCOM, begun through a framework agreement in 2018 and intended to develop further through executive agreements covering responsible gambling communication and the influence of marketing. He said online advertising will be an important test of the effectiveness of regulation and self-regulation instruments.