Italy Clarifies Bonus Messaging Rules for Gambling Operators

Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency has issued a formal reminder to remote gambling concessionaires about how they may present bonuses, rewards and prizes to customers. The clarification followed questions from licensed operators and complaints submitted by consumer groups about promotional practices.

The agency confirmed that operators may continue to offer compliant bonuses. Their public communications must remain neutral and factual. Messages that encourage participation, add sales-oriented emphasis or directly incentivise gambling can fall within Italy’s advertising prohibition, which has applied since the Dignity Decree took effect in 2019.

ADM Draws a Line Around Bonus Communications

The latest guidance focuses on the regulatory difference between a permitted bonus and the way an operator markets that offer. Licensees may explain that a bonus exists and describe how it functions. They may also publish relevant conditions and usage limits. The communication must serve an informational purpose.

The guidance states that operators may communicate the “existence and mechanics of bonuses in a purely informational manner”. Content that encourages consumers to play or creates “promotional emphasis” remains prohibited under the advertising rules enforced by the communications authority.

Technical compliance also forms part of the requirement. Bonuses must belong to permitted categories and follow the procedures established for their administration. Operators must track them correctly and apply the relevant payment, tax and accounting treatment. The rules covering fixed-odds betting bonuses also determine how licensees report those offers to the national totalisator.

This creates separate compliance duties for concessionaires. They must ensure that each bonus follows the applicable technical framework. They must also review the wording and presentation used on websites, information pages and customer communications.

Single-Domain Licences Increase Content Oversight

The reminder comes during the first year of Italy’s revised remote gambling framework. The country began operating the new system in November 2025 and awarded 52 active licences. Each concessionaire must conduct its business through one master domain.

The single-domain rule ended the previous use of skin websites by licensed companies. It also gives regulators a more concentrated view of the content presented to consumers, including explanations of products and bonus terms. Authorities can therefore examine customer-facing messages within one licensed digital environment.

The agency stressed that the clarification does not change existing policy. Concessionaires must follow current guidance and any later measures adopted by the communications regulator. The gambling authority also said it cannot reinterpret or amend those decisions because the communications authority retains responsibility for applying the advertising restrictions.

Regulatory discussions with operators have continued in other areas of the remote sector. The agency scheduled a videoconference for July 3 to discuss a draft regulation for betting exchange, defined as fixed-odds betting involving direct interaction between players.

Advertising Review Remains Unresolved

The future of the Dignity Decree remains under political discussion. In December 2025, Director General Roberto Alesse argued that lawmakers should eventually reconsider the restrictions so licensed operators can communicate with consumers through regulated channels. He said the limits on licensed-brand visibility may have given illegal operators more room in the market.

The communications regulator opened a review of gambling advertising and marketing rules in May. That process recognised continuing uncertainty over the boundary between “informational” and “promotional” communication. The government expects to revisit the wider advertising framework after completing its reorganisation of land-based gambling, which remains scheduled for the end of 2026.

The planned land-based changes are expected to replace the existing patchwork of rules with a more unified framework. Proposed areas include tighter requirements for venue operating hours and minimum distances. Ministers have indicated that a review of the Dignity Decree will form part of the final stage of the broader gambling reform. No proposal to repeal or amend the decree has been tabled.

In separate enforcement action, the gambling authority ordered internet service providers to block 293 additional unauthorised gambling domains. The new list again includes Polymarket.com, despite an earlier favourable ruling for the platform before the Regional Administrative Court. Authorities maintain that the prediction market lacks the licences required to operate in Italy.

The blocking order relies on Article 102 of Decree-Law No. 104/2020 and gives providers until July 27, 2026, to restrict access. The authority also directed providers to restore access to gamblizard.com, a domain included in an earlier block.

Source:

Italian gambling regulator stands by bonus and content rules, sbcnews.co.uk, June 29, 2026