Italy court permits lower fines for gambling advertising breaches

Italy's Constitutional Court has ruled that penalties for breaching the country's gambling advertising ban may fall below €50,000 ($56,075) when the statutory minimum is manifestly disproportionate to an offence.

Judgment No. 172, deposited on 20 October, partially invalidates Article 9(2) of the 2018 Dignity Decree. The ban itself remains in force. It prohibits direct and indirect promotion of gambling and betting with monetary prizes across broadcast, print, sporting events and online channels, with sponsorships covered since 2019.

The sanction formula remains 20% of the value of the prohibited advertising or sponsorship, normally subject to a minimum of €50,000 for each breach. The court added an exception allowing a lower amount in cases of manifest disproportion.

The decision arose from an appeal before Lazio's Regional Administrative Court against a €157,000 fine imposed by communications regulator AGCOM on a young content creator. 

The case involved promotional gambling videos on Twitch and two YouTube channels, including footage of play and links directing viewers to gambling sites. The creator had made about €1,000 from the material.

The Constitutional Court said AGCOM's practice shows that most fines are calculated from the minimum threshold rather than the percentage-based measure. Multiple breaches can multiply that floor, making the effect particularly severe for low-value, occasional promotions.

Assessing whether a lower penalty is warranted will require consideration of the breach's gravity, steps taken to remove or mitigate its consequences and the offender's personal and financial circumstances. The court pointed to those factors in Italy's general law on administrative sanctions.

It also emphasised that an effective minimum can protect public health and deter illegal advertising. Its ruling creates a way to adjust that minimum where its application would be plainly excessive.

The appeal against the content creator's penalty remains before the Lazio court. The Constitutional Court did not determine the replacement amount, leaving that issue to the proceedings there.

AGCOM's August guidance on responsible gambling communications drew a separate boundary around prevention campaigns, excluding bonuses, odds and calls to action that could make them indirect promotion.