Italy: "The ban of sports betting companies as sponsors costs us €100m/year" (L. De Siervo, Serie A)

"Sponsorship revenue from partnerships with sports betting companies is a major source of revenue for the clubs in the Top 5 leagues of Europe. The ban on such contracts in Italy represents an annual loss of more than €100m," stated Luigi De Siervo, CEO of the Lega Serie A, to the Italian news agency Agipro News on 16/10/2019.

"The Lega Serie A has repeatedly expressed its concern about a law (the so-called "dignity decree") that impacts the budgets of Italian clubs, significantly reducing their income. In Europe, sponsorship in sport in 2018 has exceeded the a record sum of €20bn," added the Italian leader in the interview, which included in full on the website of the Lega Serie A (in Italian).

Under the new law entered into force on 12/07/2018, but with a lead-in period for Italian professional sports clubs until 30/06/2019, they can no longer advertise for companies of gaming or betting which includes monetary gain since 01/07/2019.

"The penalty in terms of competitiveness compared to other European leagues is obvious. More than half of our teams have had to put an end to a…