Despite criticism from the betting industry and sports teams which rely heavily on sponsorship, the Italian government announced the news after a cabinet meeting this week.
Chief executive of Serie A team Bologna, Claudio Fenucci, denounced the news calling the government’s move “crazy”, noting that betting advertisements brings football clubs a revenue of €100 million.
“The only result […] will be to humiliate Italian [football] fans, whose teams will have less money at their disposal,” Deborah Bergamini of the opposition Forza Italia party said.
Even for the financial importance that sports bookmakers represent in the club's revenue, members of Serie A declared that the measure causes "extreme concern". The clubs are backing the statement saying that it will cause disparity with other European countries where the practice is released, as in England, for example. For them, the publicity funds that would go to the Italians would be destined to the other clubs of the continent.
Today, more than half of the elite clubs in the country have sponsorship deals with companies in the industry. The league estimated that the ban would represent a loss of about € 700 million for teams' coffers.
With an eye on a veto flexibilization, leaders will seek a review so that the ban is not maintained and that they turn a blind eye only to promoting logos in uniforms and mass actions.
Source: GMB
