Italian gambling regulators have reminded operators that while bonuses remain legal, the way they are communicated to customers could still breach the country’s strict advertising restrictions.
This clarification from ADM, Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency, came after months of confusion on the part of licensed operators and numerous complaints from consumer groups regarding the gambling industry’s promotional and reward communications.
The key point made by ADM is that while bonuses can be advertised by the operators, the promotion or encouragement of gambling activity through the use of any messaging will violate the advertising laws in Italy.
Operators must inform their customers of their bonus offerings and explain how to claim their bonuses, but these communications may only contain factual information, as well as no language designed to create excitement, attract or encourage customers to participate or bet.
ADM also stated that the current notice does not change any of the existing regulations or policies and only clarifies past interpretations of the regulations issued by ADM, as well as the previous rulings made by AGCOM.
This announcement was made as Italy continues to implement its new online gaming licensing system, which has been in existence since November 2025, and now there are 52 currently active licences.
One of the most significant changes to the system is the requirement that all operators operate their business through a single master domain in order to facilitate the on-going future of regulatory oversight and prevent the proliferation of secondary brand and skin sites that have resulted in a large amount of unregulated online gambling.
