Elon Musk’s X Fined in Italy Over Gambling Ads

Article by : Erik Gibbs Mar 18, 2024

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Italy’s Media and Communications Authority, AGCOM, has levied a €1.35m (US$1.47 million) fine against X (formerly known as Twitter) for persistently disseminating gambling advertisements and content to Italian users.

AGCOM’s verdict stems from the discovery of nine distinct instances of illicit advertisements originating from various user accounts, all of which were authenticated by the blue checkmark emblematic of X’s platform.

In response to AGCOM’s directives, the social media giant swiftly implemented necessary measures, imposing restrictions on the offending accounts to address the violations.

Since 2019, AGCOM has rigorously enforced the regulations outlined in the ‘Dignity Decree,’ which mandates that all media platforms enact a comprehensive ban on all forms of gambling advertising, communication and content.

This decree, endorsed by the former Lega-5Star coalition government, reflects Italy’s commitment to adopting some of the strictest gambling advertising restrictions in Europe.

Elon Musk’s X is not the sole tech behemoth to incur the wrath of AGCOM’s regulations. Just weeks earlier, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, faced a comparable penalty of €5.58m for hosting gambling-related content across its Instagram and Facebook platforms.

In addition to the penalties imposed on Google, Twitch and YouTube have also been affected by sanctions imposed by these authorities. In a similar vein, in December 2023, AGCOM imposed a record fine of €2.5m on Google for failing to monitor and control gambling content promoted on its YouTube video-sharing platform.

Italian media owners have voiced criticism against AGCOM’s stringent content monitoring. They find themselves subjected to hefty million-euro fines, mirroring the penalties imposed on tech giants.

Simultaneously, the Italian government has initiated a review of the ‘Reorganisation Decrees’ concerning the country’s gambling sector, encompassing both online and retail domains. This reorganization initiative represents the first comprehensive assessment of Italian gambling laws since 2011, when Italy inaugurated its regulated online gambling framework.

While the Reorganisation Decree for Online Gambling does not mandate a review of the rules outlined in the Dignity Decree, parliamentary discussions have highlighted calls for Italy to relax its gambling advertising regulations.

This shift aims to mitigate customer exposure to the €1 billion black market, which has emerged as a pressing concern.