FC Napoli has become the latest Italian football club to enter into an infotainment partnership with a betting operator, signing a two-year deal with Entain's Eurobet.live that will see the brand serve as the club’s official infotainment partner until 30 June 2028.
Napoli is not alone in pursuing this model. Last week, Juventus announced a similar partnership with bet365 Scores, further reinforcing a growing trend among Serie A clubs.
The 2018 Italian Dignity Decree imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising and sponsorships. These infotainment partnerships have emerged as a strategic workaround, allowing betting operators to maintain a presence in Italian football whil complying with strict local regulations.
The rise of infotainment deals
Bet365 has been particularly active in Italy through bet365 Scores, a sports infotainment platform offering live scores, match statistics and football content. Operating independently from the company's betting services, the platform enables the brand to remain visible without breaching the law.
Ahead of the 2025/26 Serie A season last summer, several clubs embraced the model by signing partnerships with internationally recognised brands. Bet365 Scores partnered with Pisa, Udinese, Torino, Cagliari and Napoli, Betsson.sport joined Inter, BetItalyPay signed with Lecce, AdmiralBet.news partnered with Parma and Betway Scores became Fiorentina's infotainment partner.
Can infotainment deals replace traditional sponsorship revenue?
While these partnerships help operators maintain brand visibility, an important question remains: do they provide enough funding for clubs?
Many within Italian football argue they do not. Serie A clubs have recently noted that the Dignity Decree still places them at a competitive disadvantage compared with clubs elsewhere in Europe, where traditional betting sponsorships continue to generate significant commercial income. As a result, clubs and football stakeholders have repeatedly called for the legislation to be reviewed or repealed.
That position was echoed last month by newly appointed Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giovanni Malagò, who called for renewed political dialogue over the decree and argued that the current restrictions are undermining the financial sustainability of Italian football.
Indeed, gambling partnerships are omnipresent across Europe. Before the voluntary front-of-shirt ban, betting brands spent about $135m on shirt deals in the English Premier League last season. However, this does not mean that industry is significantly reducing presence from the UK football, as outlined below.
Serie A clubs have recently noted that the Dignity Decree still places them at a competitive disadvantage compared with clubs elsewhere in Europe, where traditional betting sponsorships continue to generate significant commercial income
Some industry estimates suggested Serie A clubs lost between €80m and €100m a year following the introduction of the Dignity Decree. It remains unclear how much of that shortfall has been recovered through infotainment partnerships, as the financial terms of most agreements have not been disclosed publicly.
Premier League’s sleeve deals show how betting operators are adapting to new restrictions
Industry and clubs have found workarounds in other markets too. As previously mentioned, the English Premier League generated significant revenue from shirt betting sponsorships before the introduction of its voluntary front-of-shirt ban. However, the industry is not disappearing from official club shirts. Instead, it is simply shifting from the front of the shirt to the sleeve.
Indeed, last week Aston Villa and Kaizen Gaming extended their partnership by a further three years, keeping Betano as an Official Partner of the club until the end of the 2028/29 season. With front-of-shirt betting sponsorships no longer permitted in the Premier League, Betano's branding will remain on the left sleeve of Villa's shirts, one of the commercial spaces left untouched by the league's new sponsorship rules.
Everton has adopted a similar approach, extending its partnership with Stake ahead of the 2026/27 season by moving the operator's branding from the front of the shirt to the sleeve. The agreement has attracted particular scrutiny, however, as Stake is no longer licensed in the UK.
Furthermore, training wear, pitchside advertising, digital activations and regional partnerships all remain available, allowing betting operators to maintain a significant commercial presence in English football through alternative marketing channels. Nevertheless, the most valuable commercial asset on a football shirt – the front of the jersey – is now reserved for sponsors from other industries.
Has Italy’s sponsorship ban achieved Its goal?
One could argue that the Dignity Decree has failed to achieve what it originally set out to do in 2018. There are certainly strong arguments for reviewing, or even abolishing, the legislation, although such a view is perhaps to be expected in a gambling industry publication.
Italy's infotainment model and the Premier League's front-of-shirt ban represent a downgrade for operators compared with full unrestricted sponsorship opportunities. What is evident, however, is that betting operators have continued to find ways to remain visible in football despite increasingly restrictive advertising rules.
Polymarket branding has been removed from FC Lazio’s official website and main institutional channels following the regulator’s decision to block the platform in Italy
