Gambling Commercials, One Step Away from Being Banned in Italy

The Italian Senates has unanimously voted in favor of banning commercials that promote gambling services.

Lawmakers are taking another look at the casino industry and while Italian gambling laws have not seen any major changes lately, a recent amendment to a finance bill aims to ban all radio and TV commercials promoting real-money gambling in the country.

The initiative belonged to Socialist senator Riccardo Nencini, who claimed compulsive gambling has to be brought to a halt and believes blocking casino or betting-related ads might help. Interestingly, the new regulations don’t mention anything about online gambling sites in Italy.

At first, several members of the government opposed the amendment. However, when the time came to actually vote on it, politicians unanimously agreed to the changes.

A socialist victory on gambling

The proposed measures are in line with current European legislation and Nencini considers the favorable vote to be a true “victory for the Socialist party”.

“The government expressed itself in opposition during the debate, then changed its mind and shared our arguments. It’s a success for the whole socialist delegation, a battle began in the House by Marco Di Lello and continued and won in the Senate. A direct shot at interest groups,” he told the local press.

Local gambling businesses – especially poker sites – are already seeing a drop in revenues. The amendment is yet to be approved by the House of Representatives, but if Italian authorities decide to implement it, the industry will be facing new challenges.