The Budget Law for 2016 has amended the legal framework governing gambling advertising in Italy as previously introduced by Health Minister Balduzzi in 2012 with the intent to improve the protection level of consumers against social and economic harm that may result from compulsive or excessive gambling, prevent minors to play, safeguard health and contrast illegal gambling offer.
Since 2012, the Law forbids any gambling advertising messages that incite to gamble and that does not contain warnings on gambling addiction and notices concerning winning probabilities. According to the same Law, the Italian gambling regulator was entitled to sanction any non-compliant operator.
At now, the Budget law provisions refers to the principles set out in the European Commission Recommendation no. 2014/478/CE issued on 14 July 2014 on online gambling services to introduce:
- A general prohibition of gambling advertising from 7 am to 10 pm during Tv and Radio “general” programs. No exclusion of the prohibition in case of sports and international events is set forth but a clear definition of “general program” is missing – leading to different interpretations until the implementing decree listing the “specialized” media channels excluded from this prohibition will be issued;
- The compliance to specific principles deriving from, but not identical to, the Self-advertising regulations Institute code – Istituto di Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria (IAP), to which most of the media companies active in Italy are signatories. Such principles specifies, for example, that gambling advertising shall be prohibited when it encourages excessive or uncontrolled gaming, when it denies gambling can be risky, when it fails to make explicit terms and conditions to receive any incentives or bonuses, etc.
Any infringement to the above will be punished with a pecuniary administrative sanction up to €500,000. The Telecommunications Authority instead of the Gambling regulator will inflict this sanction to both the advertiser, the publisher and the owner of the advertising channel.
However, notwithstanding the new Law provisions, with regard to gambling advertising, the Self-Regulation Institute IAP holds the balance of power on gambling advertising in Italy and dictate in practice the conditions to the gambling operators wishing to advertise.
With its recent judgments, the IAP has stopped William Hill, Eurobet and Betsson Tv spots for being not compliant with the IAP code. Especially in the William Hill judgment, the IAP challenged the bonus message, asking for terms and conditions of the promotion to be detailed in the TV spot.
Moreover, the IAP has recently adopted a new version of its code, which includes even stricter provisions against gambling advertising, especially to prevent gambling is illegitimately associated to strong emotions and to take advantage of the sport passion.
Because of the Self-Regulation Institute recent stricter positioning, the gambling sector is facing today a concrete risk of losing part of its campaigns investments. IAP code signatories should ask themselves if this make sense with the purposes of the Self –Regulation Institute to protect the freedom of enterprise, meaning the freedom to advertise, promote and market companies’ businesses.