Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has issued a formal clarification to online gambling operators on how they may present bonuses, rewards, and prizes, drawing a hard line between permissible product information and promotional advertising prohibited under the country’s Dignity Decree.
The clarification followed queries from licensees and complaints from consumer groups about promotional practices in the market. The ADM’s position is clear: operators may describe a bonus and explain how it works, but any messaging that encourages play, adds a promotional tone, or functions as an incentive to gamble is prohibited.
Permitted and prohibited communications
Since 2019, the Dignity Decree has banned gambling advertising in Italy. Oversight of promotional communications sits with AGCOM, the communications authority, not the ADM. The ADM’s note makes that division explicit: it has no power to reinterpret or amend AGCOM’s decisions, and operators must follow AGCOM’s rules and any future updates to them.
In practice, the distinction operators must apply is between informational and promotional communication. A factual description of a welcome bonus, its value, wagering conditions, and eligible games, falls on the permitted side. Language designed to drive acquisition crosses into advertising and is not permitted, regardless of channel.
AGCOM began reviewing the boundaries of that distinction in May, acknowledging that the line between “informational” and “promotional” has been unclear in practice. The review is ongoing; no revised guidance has been published yet.
A new licensing regime
The clarification comes as Italy’s online gambling market operates under a new licensing framework introduced in November 2025. Under the new regime, 52 operators hold licences and run their businesses through single master domains, eliminating the skin-based model that preceded it.
The Italian online market generated around €5 billion in GGR, making it one of the largest regulated markets in Europe. Licensed brands operating in that market cannot use conventional marketing tools available to competitors in most other jurisdictions.
ADM Director General Roberto Alesse has acknowledged that the restrictions may have unintentionally pushed players toward unlicensed operators by limiting the visibility of licensed brands. Unregulated online gambling reached $5.9 trillion globally in 2025, and Italy’s black market exposure remains an ongoing concern for both the regulator and licensed operators.
Pressure on the Dignity Decree
The debate over the decree itself has not settled. Calls to amend the restrictions, particularly the ban on sports sponsorship, have grown louder following Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the argument that licensed operators could no longer spend on visibility that might have supported the sport commercially.
No formal legislative proposals to amend or repeal the Dignity Decree have been introduced. Italy is not alone in maintaining a restrictive stance: other European countries have followed similar lines on gambling advertising, and a citizen petition calling for an EU-wide ban on gambling advertising is currently in circulation.
Land-based reforms still pending
The advertising clarification is one part of a broader regulatory picture in Italy. The government is still working to finalise long-delayed reforms of the land-based gambling sector. The expected decree would introduce a more unified regulatory framework across the retail market, replacing the current fragmented approach with stricter rules on venue operating hours and minimum distance requirements from sensitive locations such as schools.
The reforms have been delayed repeatedly, but the government has indicated it expects to complete them in 2026. For online operators, the immediate priority is absorbing the ADM’s bonus guidance and ensuring their communications comply before AGCOM concludes its own review of the informational/promotional boundary.
Source: ADM (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli)
