Why has Google been fined in Italy?
The internet giant and world leader in online search engines Google Inc has been fined by the Italian authority Autorità per le garanzie nelle comunicazioni (Agcom) for having violated the ban on advertising of gambling and sports betting. Legislation similar to the Italian one has recently been approved in New Zealand by the PSOE-Unidas Podemos coalition government.
The Google company would have been fined in Italy for having skipped the ban that was implemented in 2019 in relation to the advertising of the online game. ©Pexels/Pixabay
What is the background of the problem?
In the summer of 2018 Italy became the first European country in ban advertising of the game on radio, television and the internet. The move caused a shock in the industry, especially in the lucrative segment of sports betting.
In the words of Luigi Di Maio, the current Italian minister of foreign Affairs and at that time deputy prime minister in the government of Giuseppe Conte, gambling would be ruining families and they would have become a heavy burden on the health budget. Populist statements that would find a great echo in Italian society.
At that time, civil society associations such as the APAL , the Association for the Prevention and Help of the Gambling Addict, they celebrated the measure taken by the Italian executive and they expressed their desire for something similar to happen in New Zealand.
Finally, and after many months of waiting and endless debates, the government chaired by Pedro Sánchez and at the initiative of the Minister of Consumption Alberto Garzón approved on November 3 in the Council of Ministers the Royal Decree 958/2020 of commercial communications of the activities of the game, putting an end to a vindication of civil society .
In 2018 Italy's share of the European gaming market was 8.1% , only behind France and Germany at continental level, according to data from the European Betting and Gaming Association (EGBA) . In 2017 the Italian market was growing substantially, which led the government to tax online casinos licensed in the country by 25%. According to estimates, this together with the ban on advertising led to a significant stagnation of the market.
Problems with Google Ads
In September of this year the Italian authority that monitors and regulates commercial communications, Agcom, initiated a research on search engine behavior Google in order to determine whether the American company through its subsidiary in Europe, Google Ireland Limited, had violated the legislation regarding the advertising of the game, the so-called Dignity Decree .
A month later the Italian authority ruled that it was considered proven that Google had broken the rules of the Decree. and allowed ads from foreign operators for Italian players. As we have seen, the regulations regarding the advertising of bookmakers and online casinos on the main internet platforms they have been hardening.
In 2018 Google was committed to remove all content related to the game in the results of your search engine in Italy. However, Agcom noted that Google had allowed paid ads from the portal sublime-casino , when in principle the operator would not even have a license to operate in the transalpine country.
The fine imposed would have amounted to one hundred thousand euros . Beyond the amount, the sanction is significant and shows that the authorities are taking responsible gambling very seriously. Digital communication giants such as Google, Facebook or Apple they are increasingly under the scrutiny of civil society.
