This issue is particularly relevant to the Italian online gambling market and to the role of advertising. Promotional offers have long been one of the most widely used tools for informing users about available offers. At the same time, the sector is subject to strict restrictions, especially following the introduction of the ban on advertising gambling with cash prizes.
The clarification provided by Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli – ADM), therefore, helps shed light on a sensitive issue: when a bonus is compliant with the regulations and when publicising it risks constituting a prohibited promotional activity.
Bonuses and promotions: a necessary distinction
One of the main points in the note concerns the difference between “bonus” and “promotion”. The two terms, often used as synonyms in commercial language, do not necessarily carry the same weight from a regulatory perspective.
ADM states that bonuses are permitted provided they comply with the sector’s technical and administrative regulations. This means that they must fall within the permitted categories, be properly tracked, and comply with the procedures established by the Agency for their management.
The situation changes when it comes to promotions, especially when the communication takes on a clearly commercial or promotional tone. In these cases, there is a risk that the message is no longer perceived as information intended for the user, but is interpreted as gambling advertising.
Guidance for online operators
The note is addressed to licensees authorised to provide remote gambling services. The Agency therefore clarifies that bonuses are not prohibited per se, but they must be managed in accordance with precise rules.
ADM refers in particular to the rules on bonuses for fixed-odds betting. This is a technical framework that establishes which types of bonuses may be offered, how they must be communicated to the national totalisator, which payment methods are allowed, and how they must be treated for tax and accounting purposes.
This requires operators to focus on two areas. On the one hand, there is the need to comply with the technical rules governing how the bonus works. On the other hand, there is the obligation to carefully assess how the offer is presented on the website, on information pages, and in communications addressed to users.
The dialogue between ADM and licensees is also continuing on other aspects of remote gambling. ADM has called operators to a videoconference meeting scheduled for 3 July, dedicated to the draft regulation on betting exchange, namely fixed-odds betting with direct interaction between players. This step also forms part of the process to reorganise the sector and confirms that a phase of technical dialogue between the regulator and the market remains open.
Impact of the advertising ban
ADM’s clarification should also be read in the context of the ban on advertising gambling with cash prizes, introduced by the Dignity Decree. On this point, the Agency refers to the guidelines of the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni – AGCOM), which provide operational guidance on the ban’s application.
The underlying principle is that an operator may provide accurate and transparent information about the services offered, but must avoid promotional messages. The difference may seem subtle, but in practice it is decisive.
A communication that sets out the conditions, limits, and methods for using a bonus may be considered legitimate informational content. By contrast, a message designed to encourage the user to gamble, by emphasising benefits, prizes, or special opportunities, may be considered problematic.
This article was originally published on the Italian SiGMA News page on 26 June 2026.
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