Category: Events

Marco Castaldo, Ceo of Microgame, at the GiocoNews.it panel at Sigma in Malta, points out that land-based sales points are less compromised by the ban on gaming advertising.

Ta’Qali, Malta – “The ban on gaming advertising, which is the result of a bad policy and a wrong approach to the sector, is however to be considered as an unavoidable consequence of the irreverence of the operators who made too frequent and excessively aggressive communication campaigns that ended up to offend somebody”.
This is the opinion of Marco Castaldo, Ceo of Microgame, who spoke at the GiocoNews.it panel at the Sigma fair in Malta dedicated to the ban on advertising.
“However, the upside is that online gaming market has nevertheless maintained its growth trend, confirming the Italian sector as a land of great opportunities”, Castaldo continues.
The ban on advertising has therefore not compromised the business, even though it has certainly changed. “What we face today is a new market with new rules in terms of marketing and communication and within which the physical network plays a highly strategic role, with the land-based sales points that are less compromised by the ban and become fundamentals in terms of affiliations”.

Here the full video of the GiocoNews’ conference

At the GiocoNews.it conference at Sigma in Malta, Andrea Rossi (Betsson Group) points out that the ban on gaming advertising is penalizing above all the smaller operators.

Ta ’Qali, Malta – “Despite the problem represented by the ban on advertising ordered by the Dignity decree, the Italian online market has not yet shown contraction effects and therefore the negative impact that many expected there wasn’t. Even if, in all probability, this scenario will still occur later, when this new regime will be consolidated”.
Andrea Rossi, manager of Betsson Group, says that during the GiocoNews.it conference hosted by Sigma Malta and dedicated to the ban on gaming advertising.
“But what can be seen, looking at the data, is that the contribution of the smaller operators has been significantly reduced in the total contribution of gaming collection and this data – although it will have to be analyzed in more detail, because it is also linked to other factors – could however depend on the ban on advertising, which undoubtedly penalizes the smaller operators and the less consolidated brands that have yet to be affirmed”.
Speaking of the ongoing strategy change, Rossi emphasizes the tendency of the big brands to promote “alternative gambling services”, as an unavoidable consequence of the ban, “focusing on contiguous gaming channels, such as the publishing industry, or the game for fun offer. Something that could be consolidated as a new form of marketing if will pass the controll of the authorities”.

Here the full video of the GiocoNews’ conference

The lawyer Rodolfo La Rosa highlights the weak points of the legislation that in Italy forbid the advertising of gaming with cash prizes.

Qa ‘Tali, Malta – The ban on advertising introduced with the Dignity decree has changed the scenario of the Italian online gaming. This is highlighted by the lawyer Rodolfo Gherardo La Rosa, a consultant of BridgeLaw, in his speech at the Gioco News focus: “Regulatory repression: the changing face of the Italian iGaming landscape“, scheduled for the Affiliates & Cmo conference.

After describing the provisions of the law decree of 12 July 2018, converted into law on 6 August, and the guidelines issued by Agcom on last 18 April, La Rosa highlights the weak points of the current legislation. First of all, as regards the European law. In fact, La Rosa underlines the “failure to notify in advance to the European Commission the draft law decree and the consequent violation of section 5 of the European directive 2015/1535, which provides that the Member States immediately communicate to the Commission any draft technical regulation”, as well as the “violation of the right of establishment and provision of services as established by sections 49 and 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”. The lawyer also observes how the ruling of the EU Court of Justice has been violated “according to which restrictions on internal market freedoms must be suitable, necessary and proportionate”.

But there is also an “internal” front, concerning compliance with license agreements with the Italian gaming authority. According to La Rosa, there is a “possible conflict between the total prohibition of advertising and the obligation for the authorized operator to carry out the marketing activity [of licensed games] exclusively through the chosen channels, engage in information activities for consumers, as regards gaming regulations and the protection of legal gaming and the promotion of safe, legal and responsible gaming”.

Here the full video of the conference.