Italian Sports Decree: Are they betting on gambling laws relaxing?
With the Winter Olympics due to start in February, the September Parliament hearing could be the last chance for Italian lawmakers to lift the advertising ban in time.
Key points:
– The Italian Sports Decree has set aside €64.5m ($74.4m) to make nationwide improvements
– The Sport and Suburbs Fund will modernise infrastructure ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics
– However, the Dignity Decree still has not been lifted
The new Sports Decree has been formally submitted in Italy by the country’s Minister for Sport, Andrea Abodi and signed off by the Head of the Department for Sport, Flavio Siniscalchi.
While this decree does not explicitly mention the strict gambling laws present in the country, or the possibility of relaxing them, it does paint a promising picture.
Between 24 points and three chapters, the Sports Decree delegates €64.5m in funding for the “Sport and Suburbs Fund”.
The Decree goes on to list how much funding each municipality could expect to receive, with several receiving €1.5m each.
This will be used for ‘urgent provisions for the organisation and conduct of major sporting events,’ such as the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
These include strengthening security measures, modifying sports grounds, logistical support and combating match-fixing.
“The Department of Sport will take care of all the necessary steps to implement this decree,” it read. “This decree is transmitted to the Court of Auditors via the Budget Office.”
Every host commits a certain amount of money to upgrading the country when the Olympics are due to be held.
However, the country is still under the Dignity Decree, which is not due to be resubmitted to Parliament until September 2025.
Good to know: The Dignity Decree was introduced in 2018 and banned all forms of gambling advertising, including sponsorships in sports
Ministers in the country are arguing that relaxing the rules would allow for better player education when it comes to black market operators and thus improve channelisation, while others are emphasising the amount of revenue it could bring in.
During the Paris 2024 Olympics, official figures suggest that worldwide bets exceeded €11bn, which was a 20% increase compared to Tokyo 2020 and 50% more than Rio 2016.
Between the €64.5m already committed in funding and the increasing attention the Olympics is getting from sports betting fans, this could make for a persuasive argument in the Italian Parliament in a few months’ time.
On the topic of revenue, Italy is also expected to publish updates on the new online betting licence in September too.
This garnered widespread speculation when the iGaming licences jumped from €200,000 to €7m.
Despite the steep costs, 46 operators have been listed as eligible to receive a remote gambling licence in Italy.
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