Democratic Party MPs have submitted a new question in Italy’s Chamber of Deputies over SS Lazio’s multi-year shirt sponsorship agreement with Polymarket, asking ministers to assess whether the deal is compatible with national gambling, advertising and consumer protection rules.
The question was addressed to the Minister for Sport and Youth and the Minister for Economy and Finance by Mauro Berruto, Stefano Vaccari, Alberto Pandolfo and Paolo Ciani.
The MPs cited industry reports valuing the agreement at more than $22m and noted that Polymarket’s logo appeared on Lazio shirts during its Serie A match against Napoli.
The deal runs against a regulatory backdrop in which Italy has maintained strict limits on gambling advertising and sponsorship since the 2018 Dignity Decree.
Polymarket operates as a peer-to-peer prediction market, allowing users to buy and sell outcome-based positions on future events using crypto-assets. Its model has raised regulatory questions in several jurisdictions because prediction markets may be treated as gambling, financial contracts or a separate category depending on local law.
In Italy, Polymarket does not hold an ADM licence. The platform’s own help page states that trading is restricted in Italy, with users able to view markets and data but not trade.
The MPs said the issue is whether the Lazio agreement, although described for the Italian market as involving analysis, fan intelligence and digital insights, could still create indirect promotion of a platform whose trading activity remains outside Italy’s licensed gambling framework.
The question also refers to Italy’s current laws, including Law No. 401 of 1989 and Legislative Decree No. 104 of 2020, arguing that the framework does not expressly address prediction markets based on blockchain technology and crypto assets.
The Government has been asked what checks it intends to carry out to ensure the sponsorship complies with rules on gaming, advertising and consumer protection, while preserving equal conditions for licensed operators.
The scrutiny comes as Italy’s authorities continue to focus on gambling-linked financial flows and compliance. In related news, Financial Police operations across Bergamo and Milan led to the seizure of €8.6m ($10.1m) in an investigation involving alleged false invoicing, money laundering and cash linked partly to slot revenues.
Polymarket lists Italy among jurisdictions where users can view markets and data but cannot place trades
