The national lottery – operated by the government – is exempt from the new legislation.
The decision comes after a push by Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Populist 5 Star movement, Luigi Di Maio. He first submitted his advertising ban “Dignity Decree” in June and, after the bill passed, said: “This is the first decree for decades that hasn’t been dictated by lobbies and vested interests. Finally ordinary people have scored a point.”
The ban technically goes into effect on January 1 next year. However, any company that has a current contract that isn’t set to expire until after that date will be given an extension until June 30.
According to Di Maio, any advertising contract that is designed to promote gambling “between the approval of the Dignity Decree in the Council of Ministers and its publication will not be valid.”
It will take some time for the new law to be ironed out. Google and Facebook have made changes to their search platforms to comply with the new law; however, the result was that unlicensed operators appeared at the top of the results of searches. This could, at least until things settle down, create issues for problem gamblers.
As a result of the ban, many are anticipating operators to move offshore in an effort to minimize the impact the decision has on their businesses.
Source: GMB / Calvin Ayre
