A communications watchdog in Italy has issued fines totaling more than €3m ($3.3m) to Twitch and Google for violating the country’s gambling ad ban. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Significant penalties

A communications watchdog in Italy has issued fines totaling more than €3m ($3.3m) to Twitch and Google over gambling advertising violations. Google-owned YouTube has to pay a €2.3m ($2.5m) fine, while Twitch faces a €900,000 ($982,251) penalty.

requested that both parties take down over 20,000 videos

The Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM) also requested that both parties take down over 20,000 videos that promote different forms of gambling and ensure that they prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. It noted how the two companies have video makers on their platforms that showcase gambling content not permitted in Italy.

A track record of violations

Google has already been on the receiving end of financial penalties in Italy for similar offenses. AGCOM ordered the firm to pay €750,000 ($818,543) in August 2022 and €100,000 ($109,139) in October 2020 for ad violations.

The firm successfully appealed both of these fines. A court ruled in September regarding the €750,000 ($818,543) case that the company isn’t liable for the ads as it is a hosting provider and has certain protections.

AGCOM also investigated TikTok in its recent investigation before concluding that any gambling content was not the platform’s fault. TikTok has avoided a fine as a result.

Blanket ban on gambling ads

Italy introduced a total ban on gambling advertising in July 2018. This has had a knock-on effect on operators that rely on marketing messages to gain new customers.

people in Italy spend about €25bn ($27bn) annually through black market gambling

A report by local newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport in October showed that people in Italy spend about €25bn ($27bn) annually through black market gambling. This means the country is losing out on around €1bn ($1.1bn) in tax revenue each year to illegal offerings.

These findings led to the European Gaming and Betting Association calling on Italian lawmakers to scale back the blanket ban on gambling ads so that people can learn about legitimate options.