AGCOM Warns Italy’s Licensed Operators Against Celebrity Endorsements and Tipsters in Safer Gambling Campaigns

Italy’s media and communications authority AGCOM has warned against the use of tipsters and celebrity endorsements to promote online betting markets and gambling brands. The warning targets the 46 licensed operators that form the country’s new online gambling regime, overseen by the ADM.

New guidelines govern the marketing and content of safer and responsible gambling campaigns. AGCOM will review all such campaigns to prevent responsible gambling messaging from functioning as disguised brand promotion. This includes barring celebrities from endorsing a brand as a safe gambling platform.

“Operators should avoid using celebrities or testimonials already associated with their commercial brand,” AGCOM noted. The authority sees celebrity endorsements as creating a risk of normalising online gambling and undermining safer gambling objectives.

AGCOM will sweep social media platforms to address betting tipsters who claim to offer winning strategies or predictive systems. The regulator acknowledges that tipsters may not be directly tied to betting brands but has reiterated demands for online media platforms to tighten scrutiny of advertising linked to illegal operators.

Responsible gambling campaigns must exclude commercial slogans or promotional taglines tied to the brand. The prevention message must take precedence over the operator’s identity. AGCOM further discourages short-format advertising such as billboards, short videos and L-shaped TV graphics because these leave insufficient space or time for meaningful gambling-harm prevention messages.

The review aligns with the Nine Risk Indicators developed under the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).

Dignity Decree Still Stands

AGCOM continues to uphold the advertising restrictions of the Dignity Decree of 2018, which imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising and sponsorship across Italian media and sport. Safer gambling communications are among the few permitted messages, provided they are not disguised brand promotions.

The Meloni government has yet to repeal or amend the Dignity Decree’s gambling advertising ban. Focus has shifted to Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, who must finalise terms of a football revival proposal that includes a 2% levy on football betting revenues before submission to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for Budget 2027 consideration.

The outcome will carry further significance for the gambling sector as the government balances new betting duties against the Dignity Decree restrictions. As reported by SBC News, these steps maintain clear lines between promotional activity and harm prevention.

Reporting: SBC News

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