The Senate of Italy is prepared to review the Dignity Decree of 2018 to either revoke or modify the ban on gambling sponsorship, enforced since 2019.
Calcio newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Sports Minister Andrea Abodi is ready to negotiate a new sponsorship code with the Italian football clubs that will be presented to the Culture Committee of the Senate.
The motion is backed by the 7th Senate Commission, which deemed the sponsorship rules of the Dignity Decree as unviable for Italian sports to uphold, as restrictions have damaged Italy’s regulated gambling market and caused unnecessary friction with consumers and professional leagues.
The Commission has called for an immediate suspension of the Dignity Decree, to help Abodi finalise a new sponsorship decree that will propose a ‘1% betting allocation’ on the condition modernise Italian football stadiums, women’s soccer and upgrade grassroots facilities and youth systems.
A review of the Dignity Decree was pledged by Roberto Alesse, Director General of the Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), charged with the regulatory oversight of the Gambling Sector.
Alesse had branded the Dignity Decree measures as “hypocritical regulation”, which “cannot be applied by a liberal state”.
Passed into law in July 2018, the Dignity Decree was formed as the civic contract of the short-lived Lega Nord and 5Star coalition government, a federal mandate of fifteen civic duties authored by Deputy Luigi Di Maio. Amongst its articles the Decree carried a blanket ban on gambling sponsorship applied to all Italian sports.
Since 2019, Serie A and Serie B football clubs have contested the application of the Decree’s sponsorship ban as unconstitutional, citing that Di Maio bypassed legislative requirements to impose the ban as a federal law.
A review of the sponsorship ban appeared on the horizon in 2023, as Prime Minister Georgia Meloni formed a majority government, and ordered a review of Italy’s gambling laws to modernise the sector.
However the mandate was not applied to the Reorganisation of Gambling Decree.
Prior to the introduction of the Decree, more than half of the clubs in Italy’s top-flight had partnerships with companies in the gambling sector – thus negotiations are needed as the Senate Commission deems that the same scenario cannot be repeated.
When first introduced, Serie A estimated that the country would lose out on around €700m in tax in the following three years. It also argued that the new legislation would create “competitive disadvantages for Italian clubs”, but would also “divert abroad advertising budgets aimed at teams”.
Meanwhile, several clubs in the division have found ways around the ban, such as the sponsorship deal between Inter Milan and Betsson Sport, where the club referred to the subsidiary as a ‘sport infotainment brand’ in its announcement.
The operator had also put the brand forward as a sports entertainment site offering users ‘exclusive content, interviews, news and highlights regarding a number of different sports’, as well as being its primary front-of-shirt sponsor.
The legislation changes are expected to be announced by the Senate Culture Committee soon, which will allow betting brands to have their logos on the front of shirts and sleeves of Serie A and B clubs, as well as on pitchside advertising.
As reported, the mandate to overturn the Dignity Decree carries strong institutional alignment. The initiative has secured broad cross-party support, backed by football governing bodies FIGC, CONI, and Serie A.
At this point in time, Italy’s online gambling sector continues to accelerate at a double-digit momentum as recent statistics have indicated that the market reached a GGR size of €5bn in 2024.
Though yet to be confirmed by Italy’s ADM, the 2024 result of €5bn indicates an 11% year-on-year GGR increase from the 2023 total of €4.5bn.
Importantly, on the sports betting ban being lifted, a restriction that will still remain is betting firms must be licensed by the aforementioned ADM.
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