Lazio and Polymarket Mutually Terminate €22m Sponsorship After ADM Blacklisting
TL;DR — Lazio AS terminated its record €22m sponsorship with Polymarket by mutual agreement in light of regulatory action by Italian authorities after the ADM reinserted Polymarket onto its blacklist on 10 July. The sponsorship became incompatible with the Dignity Decree of 2018 and the parties left the door open to reviving the partnership should Italy’s regulatory treatment of prediction markets change.
SCCG Take — The episode shows how swiftly regulatory classification can unwind sports sponsorships in Italy. Prediction market operators and clubs should track the TAR case and lobbying efforts for decree reform.
Lazio AS and US prediction markets platform Polymarket have terminated their record €22m sponsorship agreement with immediate effect by mutual agreement. The decision follows regulatory action against the platform by Italian authorities, according to SBC News.
The partnership was announced in April, ending the club’s near-three-year period without a main shirt sponsor. It had been scheduled to run until June 2028, with an option to extend for a further season.
ADM Blacklisting Conflicts With Dignity Decree
On 10 July, the ADM reinserted Polymarket onto its blacklist of websites deemed unauthorised to offer gambling services to Italian consumers. The agency treated the platform’s prediction-market offering as the collection or provision of gambling without the necessary Italian concession.
This placed the sponsorship in breach of the Dignity Decree of 2018, which prohibits direct and indirect advertising and sponsorship of gambling products. Polymarket challenged the decision before the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) but failed to obtain urgent relief while the full case is assessed.
Mutual Settlement and Persistent Enforcement
Lazio and Polymarket issued a joint statement confirming the termination: “The agreement has been reached in a spirit of mutual cooperation and allows for the early termination of the partnership through a mutually agreed solution that safeguards the interests of both parties, in light of the new measures adopted by the competent authorities affecting the applicable regulatory framework.”
As part of the settlement, Polymarket will pay S.S. Lazio the full amount contractually due for the 2026/2027 sporting season, approximately €9.5m. The parties left the door open to reviving the partnership should Italy’s regulatory treatment of prediction markets change.
The development coincides with Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti calling on AGCOM and the Guardia di Finanza to ensure the full application of Article 9, which prohibits gambling advertising “in any form”. AGCOM stated that rules of the Dignity Decree stand regardless of Parliamentary proceedings to repeal and replace the Decree. Italian football and gambling stakeholders continue to lobby for the Dignity Decree to be repealed or replaced as part of wider reforms of gambling and sports funding.
Reporting: SBC News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Italy just proved that even a €22m sports sponsorship can unravel overnight when regulators reclassify your product.
We've brokered sponsorships and market-entry strategies across Europe for three decades. This termination is a textbook reminder: regulatory certainty must come before the jersey press conference. Prediction markets sit in legal grey zones across half the continent, and Italy's Dignity Decree remains the strictest ad ban in the EU. If you're a platform or a club looking at novel verticals, compliance due diligence is non-negotiable — and SCCG navigates that maze every day.
- ADM re-blacklisted Polymarket on 10 July; sponsorship violated Italy's 2018 Dignity Decree ad ban
- Polymarket will still pay Lazio ~€9.5m for 2026/27 season despite immediate termination
- Parties left door open to revive deal if Italy's prediction-market framework changes
SCCG angle: SCCG works with operators and rights-holders to stress-test sponsorship deals against evolving regs in every EU market. We've placed clients with federations, leagues, and clubs — and we know which jurisdictions are stable and which are minefields. Before you sign a €22m deal, let us map the regulatory landmines and build fallback clauses that protect both sides.
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