It is provided for in an Italian state law and has deeply changed the national panorama of gaming with cash winnings. This doesn't mean that the advertising ban, introduced in 2018 and becoming fully operational the following year, is a goal now achieved and that any doubts or difficulties have been solved.
With Massimiliano Capitanio, one of the commissioners of the Communications Regulatory Authority (Agcom), we take stock of Agcom's activity, which is also strongly focused on the control of the provisions regarding the ban on gaming advertising contained in the Dignity decree, in light of the guidelines for their implementation developed by the Authority itself.
How can and should we operate to ensure full respect of the Dignity decree?
“In light of the broad scope of the ban, the Authority, since 2019, has adopted Guidelines following a public consultation, where many stakeholders participated, including concessionaires and televisions, just to outline in more detail the scope of the Authority's intervention. Guidelines provide a complete framework of rules in which, among other things, the harmful, as well as lawful, conducts are specified. For example, it has been specified that the services of odds comparison or commercial offers of the various concessionaires are not forms of advertising, as long as they are carried out in compliance with the principles of continence, non-deceptiveness and frankness. Therefore, before carrying out any type of communication, the subjects of the ban should read the Guidelines, which among other things are very simple and understandable just to facilitate users, to ensure that they do not fall into the ban provided for by the law."
In your opinion, to what extent have the objectives forecast by it been achieved?
“Surely, Agcom's activity has made it possible to fight against the most direct and aggressive forms of advertising which, ultimately, are those that can most expose citizens to the risk of gambling addiction. The fact remains that, if the Authority is still carrying out many investigations, it means that the ban is not respected upstream and that, consequently, gambling advertising is very present in the media system, especially on the internet. It is therefore necessary to understand whether a single supervisory and sanctioning activity is enough or, on the contrary, a regulation that first of all assures knowledge and awareness of legal gaming is more appropriate. Secondly, it should distinguish typically gambling activities, therefore more subject to compulsiveness, and those in which, for example, a component of skill is relevant, with consequent differentiated rules on commercial communications.”
Do you believe that it will be possible to have a political reflection on the current rules on the advertising ban, also in light of what the tax delegation provides for gaming reform, and what could Agcom's contribution be in this case?
“Agcom brought to the attention of the Government which, at the time, issued the Dignity decree, the problems emerged since the public consultation for the issuing of the Guidelines. Agcom will certainly be able to provide a further contribution in light of the experience gained in the field of supervision. An aspect that I would like to underline, for example, is the lack of proportionality of the sanctioning system, which does not distinguish the scope of the conduct nor the subjective position of those who carry it out. A small local newspaper can potentially be sanctioned to the same extent as a large international social media website."
On the internet and on social media, there is a proliferation of websites and profiles that illegally use well-known gaming and casino brands or that invite you to play at "non-Aams" casinos, also offering promotions and bonuses. How can you intervene and what should the legal operator who sees his logo stolen and/or sees it improperly used do?
“What has been said above applies, the ban on gambling advertising remains valid even more towards the illegal use of the logo and name of the legal operator. The invitation is to report the behaviour to Agcom, which, once the offense has been ascertained, proceeds with the sanction provided for by the aforementioned Dignity decree which, it should be remembered, is of a minimum of €50 thousand."