Gambling addiction and advertising: two petitions call on the EU for tougher rules
Gambling addiction and gambling advertising are back at the centre of the European debate. The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions has placed two petitions on the agenda for its meeting on 22 and 23 June 2026, both focused on regulating the gambling sector and protecting European Union citizens from the risks of addiction.
The documents differ in approach but converge on a shared political point. According to the petitioners, the measures currently available are insufficient to mitigate the social, health, and economic impacts of gambling, especially in its online dimension. The first petition, submitted by Cypriot citizen Michalis Iona, calls for a ban on advertising by gambling companies. The second, signed by Italian citizen Giovanni Fiorillo, calls for more effective protection of European citizens from gambling addiction.
The debate in the PETI Committee does not automatically produce new European legislation. However, it represents a significant institutional step, as it brings to the attention of the European Parliament an issue that has taken on an increasingly transnational dimension in recent years: the relationship between commercial promotion, online gambling, consumer vulnerability, and public health.
Iona: gambling advertising has become too intrusive
Michalis Iona’s petition focuses on the role of advertising. According to the petitioner, the promotion of gambling has become pervasive, appearing on social media, billboards, and various marketing channels. In his assessment, this communications pressure exposes young people, older people, and vulnerable individuals to constant invitations to gamble.
The request made in the petition is clear: to ban advertising by gambling companies in the European Union. For Iona, removing the commercial promotion of gambling would help prevent compulsive behaviour and protect people who are already undergoing recovery from gambling addiction.
The issue forms part of a wider debate on industry responsibility and the effectiveness of self-regulation. For years, the betting and iGaming sector has promoted responsible gambling tools, codes of conduct, and prevention messages. The petition, however, raises a more radical question: it does not simply call for more cautious advertising, but challenges the very legitimacy of promoting products that may be risky for certain categories of people.
Fiorillo: “Self-exclusion and slogans are not enough”
Giovanni Fiorillo’s petition addresses gambling addiction from the perspective of health and social protection. In the official summary published by the European Parliament, the petitioner refers to the dramatic consequences of gambling addiction on victims’ personal lives, also citing his own experience, marked by financial losses, health problems, and hospital admissions.
According to Fiorillo, promoting self-exclusion and repeating slogans about responsible gambling are not enough to address the root causes of the problem. The petitioner argues that the gambling industry, particularly the slot machine and online casino sectors, has grown exponentially and has contributed to an alarming rise in addiction cases. This is an assessment contained in the petition, which Fiorillo links to the alleged inability of European governments to curb the growth of online gambling and provide citizens with adequate protection.
The proposal goes beyond prevention. Fiorillo calls for stricter rules, more decisive interventions, closer cooperation with local health services, and an assistance system for pathological gamblers. In particular, he proposes compensation and welfare services for people affected by addiction, modelled on the protections provided for other forms of addiction. The most sensitive point is the recognition of the pathological gambler not simply as a consumer responsible for their own choices, but as a vulnerable person who must be protected and, according to the petitioner, compensated.
A digital market that crosses national borders
The European issue is also regulatory. Online gambling no longer operates only within the traditional boundaries of national markets. Digital platforms, advertising campaigns, affiliates, sponsored content, and payment tools make the sector more difficult to control than in the past.
The European Commission recalls that there is no single European Union sector-specific legislation on gambling services. Member States retain autonomy in organising their own markets, while respecting the fundamental freedoms provided for in the treaties and the Court of Justice of the European Union’s case law. This fragmentation explains why, on issues such as advertising, prevention, self-exclusion, and the protection of vulnerable players, the framework varies widely from country to country.
At the same time, the Digital Services Act has introduced new general rules for online platforms, including transparency obligations for advertisements and stronger protections for minors, such as a ban on targeted advertising to children. However, this is not a specific set of rules on gambling. The two petitions are, in effect, asking the European legislator to examine gambling through a more targeted lens, especially when commercial communication reaches vulnerable users or those at risk.
Public health and industry responsibility
The issue does not concern consumer law alone. The World Health Organization considers gambling to be a phenomenon with significant effects on public health. The WHO notes that the normalisation of gambling is encouraged by commercialisation, digitalisation, sponsorships, and promotion across traditional and social media. Among the prevention measures identified are the ending of gambling-related advertising, promotions, and sponsorships.
This context strengthens the political weight of the petitions discussed at a European level. For the iGaming and betting industry, the message is clear: the sector’s sustainability cannot be measured solely by growth, revenue, and technological innovation. Increasingly, it also depends on the ability to prevent harm, engage with health authorities, and demonstrate that protecting vulnerable players is not optional in corporate communication.
The debate in the PETI Committee will not close the discussion, but it could help shape its direction. The petitions submitted by Iona and Fiorillo raise a question that is likely to weigh on the regulatory future of European gambling: are the current rules still adequate in a market where gambling is available everywhere and at any time, promoted through increasingly sophisticated digital channels?
For the petitioners, the answer is no. It is precisely from this perceived insufficiency that the call emerges for a new regulatory phase, stricter on advertising, more attentive to public health, and closer to the dignity of people affected by addiction.
This article was originally published on the Italian SiGMA News page on 19 June 2026.
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