Italy iGaming advertising compliance brief

Licensing and permitted advertising

ADM is the licensing authority. AGCOM is the advertising regulator. Article 9 of the Dignity Decree, Decree-Law 87/2018 converted into Law 96/2018, establishes the prohibition on advertising gambling and betting with cash prizes. This covers licensed sportsbook, online casino and other cash-prize iGaming operators.

• Holding an ADM concession does not create an exemption for commercial advertising.
• The Chambers guide describes permitted purely informative content as neutral, without invitations to play, tracked links, bonuses, odds or promotions. Examples include licence information, explanations of legality and safe gaming, and non-commercial industry news.
• Responsible gambling campaigns that meet AGCOM's reported criteria and do not incentivise gambling are not treated as prohibited advertising.
• Sports sponsorships by gambling operators have been prohibited since 1 January 2019.

Audience and age rules

The supplied extracts do not establish a numerical minimum gambling age. The minimum age is therefore unconfirmed in this brief. They refer to gambling services in restricted areas accessible to adult registered customers.

• The advertising ban applies across media and time slots; adult-only targeting or a late-night placement does not create permission for promotional advertising.
• The reported responsible gambling guidelines require appropriate technical safeguards on websites and social media to prevent minors accessing unsuitable material.
• Data collected for player protection must not be reused for direct or indirect marketing, commercial profiling, advertising targeting or predictive models of gambling propensity.
• Specific audience-percentage thresholds and age-verification specifications are unconfirmed.

Creative and content rules

Commercial communications encouraging gambling, promoting an operator or building gambling-related brand awareness fall within the ban. The following additional restrictions on responsible gambling campaigns are described in August 2026 reporting on AGCOM's guidelines.

• Exclude winnings, jackpots, bonuses, odds, financial incentives, promotions, reward mechanisms and direct or indirect invitations to gamble.
• Gambling interfaces, screenshots, buttons, slot-style animations, cards, dice, roulette and jackpot or bonus effects are identified as incompatible with preventive communications.
• An operator logo may identify the licensee but must remain secondary to the prevention message. Promotional slogans are prohibited, and a brand that is also the name of a specific gambling product or offering is reported as incompatible.
• Celebrity endorsements and tipsters are reported as prohibited in responsible gambling campaigns.
• Links and QR codes must not lead to gambling services, including through intermediate pages. Permitted player-protection destinations must contain no operator branding or promotional content and must not provide navigation to gambling areas or account access.

Channel-specific rules

The general advertising ban applies to display, video/CTV and DOOH/outdoor. The limited scope for preventive or neutral information must not be treated as permission for ordinary acquisition or brand campaigns.

• Display: promotional banners and other internet gambling advertising are prohibited. Any responsible gambling communication must maintain separation from promotion and must not link to gambling services.
• Video/CTV: the all-media ban covers promotional video and connected television placements, with no time-slot exemption. For permitted preventive audiovisual content, branding must remain secondary, including in its duration on screen.
• DOOH/outdoor: promotional gambling billboards are prohibited. The all-media ban also covers digital outdoor advertising; no separate DOOH promotional exemption is established by the supplied results.
• AGCOM reporting describes short videos, billboard formats and L-shaped screen formats as poorly suited to standalone prevention messaging, though they may form part of a broader multi-format strategy leading to fuller information, an institutional website or a support helpline. A specific outdoor approval process for such campaigns is unconfirmed.

Promotions and affiliates

Bonuses, offers, odds and welcome bonuses must not be used in promotional advertising. Affiliates are not a route around the advertising ban.

• Chambers states that affiliation is permitted only for ADM-authorised operators and subject to commercial communication rules, including the ban on direct and indirect advertising.
• The guide's description of permitted neutral information excludes tracked links and mentions of bonuses, odds or promotions.
• A 2026 commercial article claims that factual bonus information may be presented without promotional framing. The supplied extracts do not establish the authoritative scope or conditions of that distinction; permission for such communications is unconfirmed.
• Do not treat factual bonus reporting as evidence that paid bonus campaigns, affiliate acquisition links or promotional landing pages are permitted.

Recent and upcoming changes

Reports dated 11 and 12 August 2026 describe finalised AGCOM responsible gambling campaign guidelines. These address preventive content, secondary branding, links, data separation and campaign formats rather than reopening general gambling advertising.

• The 12 August report describes a requirement to invest 0.2% of net revenues in responsible gambling communications. The supplied extracts do not confirm the precise revenue definition, full scope or commencement date.
• The same report says a further regulatory review has been announced, but its timetable and outcome are unconfirmed.
• An earlier 2026 commercial article says revised guidance had not yet been published; the later August reporting describes finalised guidelines. No primary guideline text is included in the supplied results.
• No repeal of the general advertising ban or confirmed future date for reopening promotional advertising is established by the supplied results.

Sources

• Chambers: Gaming Law 2025 — Italy
• Withers: The implications of Italy's ban on gambling advertisements
• SiGMA: AGCOM responsible gambling communication rules, first published 12 August 2026
• European Gaming: Celebrity endorsements and tipsters in responsible gambling campaigns, 11 August 2026
• Licence Gaming: 2026 bonus commentary — authoritative scope unconfirmed