AGCOM fines a concessionaire for streamer-led promotion of its sites
AGCOM Decision 121/24/CONS fined Vincitù S.r.l. EUR 388,453.92 for social media promotion of its sites by a content creator under the Decreto Dignità ban.
By Oliwer Brewitz, Head of Marketing
Key changes
- Concessionaire held liable for creator content bought through an intermediary
- Fine set at 20% of advertising value, minimum EUR 50,000 per violation
- Each promotional contract assessed individually; affiliate deals not automatically unlawful
- Ban confirmed to cover social media and streaming
What changed
On 30 April 2024 the communications authority AGCOM adopted Decision 121/24/CONS against Vincitù S.r.l., an Italian online gaming concessionaire, for breaching the advertising ban in Article 9(1) of Decree-Law 87/2018. A contract with a Malta-based intermediary paid a content creator to promote two of the concessionaire's gaming sites on social media. AGCOM treated this as two violations and imposed EUR 388,453.92, equal to 20% of the advertising value of EUR 1,942,269.60. It found no breach, on the evidence available, in 28 other skin promotion contracts or 20 web affiliation contracts, and stated that promotion or commercialisation is not automatically advertising: each activity must be assessed.
What it means for advertising
The decision confirms that the ban covers indirect advertising on any medium, including social networks and streaming, and that the licensed operator itself can be sanctioned for content produced through intermediaries and creators. It follows AGCOM decisions against the intermediary and against major video, social and search platforms for hosting gambling promotion. Affiliate and comparison activity was not condemned outright, but AGCOM reserved the right to examine comparison sites. This is likely to make operators treat any paid creator, streamer or affiliate content as presumptively within the ban.
What operators should do
Audit all influencer, streamer, skin and affiliate agreements, including those signed through agencies or group companies abroad. Remove promotional obligations that go beyond neutral information. Keep evidence of what each contract requires and what was actually published, since AGCOM assessed contracts one by one. Budget for exposure of at least EUR 50,000 per violation, the statutory minimum, and note that AGCOM counts each promoted site separately. Make sure creators working for group brands in other markets cannot reach Italian audiences.
Full rules: Italy regulation brief · All Italy updates