The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has moved the introduction of gambling reforms to the front of the government’s agenda for spring 2026, with the Reorganization...
Italy introduces new gambling bonus rules for operators
Italy’s gambling regulator, the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), has published a new clarification on bonuses and promotional offers for licensed operators.
The ADM shared the clarification after receiving complaints from consumer groups, stressing that guidelines on bonuses, rewards, and prizes were not clear. In the new publication, the regulator has directly classified in which cases a bonus complies with rules and in which cases it constitutes banned promotional activity.
While bonuses are allowed, operators must follow technical and administrative regulations and present them as neutral information; on the other hand, promotions that resemble gambling advertising and use a commercial tone are fully prohibited.
For context, gambling ads have been under a blanket ban since 2019 in Italy, after the communications regulator AGCOM introduced the Dignity Decree. In ADM’s publication, the regulator reminded that AGCOM is the main legal authority supervising gambling advertising and that ADM cannot interpret or amend its decisions.
At the same time, AGCOM had launched a review of the advertising rules in May 2026, with Director General Roberto Alesse agreeing that the ban could have been responsible for increasing black market activity. In addition to that, concerns over gambling ad restrictions for sports sponsorships have also increased after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup.
After Italy failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third time in a row, the Italian Football Federation’s (FIGC) President Gabriele Gravina resigned on April 2,...
