Serie A has expressed “extreme worry” after the approval of a new decree that would see a blanket ban on any gambling-related advertising in Italy.
The Decreto Dignita, which was approved by the Italian Council of Ministers on Monday, is to come into effect on Jan. 1 next year.
All advertising of products and services related to gambling will be banned, while sports clubs will also be prohibited from carrying sponsors from that industry.
Those with existing agreements will be granted concessions to honor their contracts, while the decree excludes the state-run national lottery.
It is to directly affect sports, especially soccer, where more than half of the clubs in Serie A have a sponsorship deal with a betting company.
“Lega Serie A is following with extreme worry the developments of the Decreto Legge Dignita and the impact on Italian football of rules which ban advertising from betting firms,” the governing body said in a statement.
“In highlighting the clear disparity compared to other countries in Europe and the world, where such bans don’t exist, and showing the negative consequences of such a measure, the Lega Serie A points out that in the 2017-2018 season, 12 top-flight clubs had a partnership agreement with companies from the betting sector,” it added.
It said clubs would lose millions of euros worth of sponsorship.
More money could also be lost from a knock-on effect on revenue from the sale of television rights, as TV companies would not be able to sell advertising slots at high prices to gambling firms during games.
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), which represents privately owned European online betting and gaming operators, said that “each year, gambling operators contribute about 120 million euros [US$140.47 million] to sponsor sports teams and leagues in Italy.”
Serie A’s governing body pointed to the success of the English Premier League and warned of lost money for Italian teams.
“In the Premier League, identified by everyone as the benchmark for its ability to generate resources, 45 percent of clubs have a gaming firm as a shirt sponsor and in all the stadiums, on screens pitch-side, there is advertising from betting companies,” the statement said. “Prohibiting the firms from this sector to invest in advertising in our country would bring competitive disadvantages to Italian clubs, directing abroad advertising budgets meant for our teams.”
Serie A has said it is ready to sit down with the parties involved in the hope that amendments can be made to the decree, and solutions found to stem gambling problems and prevent addiction.
Genoa president Enrico Preziosi said the decree would only aid illegal betting.
“It’s madness,” he said. “It would be a huge blow for us and wouldn’t even resolve the problem it wants to face.”
There are further questions over how effective the ban would be and how it could be put into practice, when foreign teams with a betting company as a shirt sponsor play in Italy. Gambling advertising would also be seen when matches from other leagues are broadcast.
Official statistics showed that 101.85 billion euros were spent on gambling in Italy last year — a 6 percent increase from 2016 and up about 142 percent from 2007.
There are also nearly 1 million people with some form of gambling addiction, nearly half of whom are unemployed.
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