Bet365 is the latest firm to workaround Italy’s laws on betting sponsorship and advertising in sport with its new Napoli deal.
The popular sports betting app has completed a deal to sponsor the reigning Serie A champions through its subsidiary company, bet365 Scores.
Bet365 Scores is an app that offers stats and results in real time, becoming the Official Infotainment Partner of Napoli for the 2025-26 season.
What Are Italy’s Laws On Sports Betting Sponsorship?
The reason bet365 itself isn’t able to sponsor sports clubs in Italy is because of the Dignity Decree of 2018 that imposed a strict prohibition on all gambling-related advertising and sponsorships in connection with sporting and cultural events.
Major online casinos were previously synonymous with Italian football, most notably bwin whose logo was seen on the front of AC Milan kits between 2006 and 2010.
Roma’s training kit was sponsored by Betway, Lazio had a front-of-shirt deal with Marathonbet and both Torino and Chievo had back-of-shirt sponsors.
The law was introduced to tackle problem gambling but many have argued it has only driven players toward the black market of offshore sportsbooks and created an even bigger issue.
There are around 300 top-flight clubs around the world who currently hold sponsorships with betting firms and it goes without saying the sport is financially dependent on the industry.
As a result of the ban, clubs in Italy are financially disadvantaged compared to their counterparts in England who play in the Premier League and Serie A bosses are keen to overturn it as soon as possible.
The Italian Football Association argued clubs are losing out on an estimated €100 million in potential commercial revenue.
The Premier League’s honeymoon period is about to end though as from the start of the 2026-27 season, clubs are required to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts.
It won’t prohibit gambling sponsors on sleeve sponsorships however, with training kit deals and social media partnerships to remain in place also.
Napoli Join Fiorentina, Atalanta And Inter Milan With Gambling Subsidiary Deals
There are already a number of clubs in Italian football with similar partnerships to Napoli. Betway’s subsidiary Betway Scores featured on Fiorentina’s shirt sleeve through the recent 2024-25 campaign.
LeoVegas operates through its online news sub-brand, LeoVegas.News, to partner with Atlanta. Additionally, Betsson’s infotainment brand, Betsson Sport, is in the middle of a four-year front-of-shirt deal with Inter Milan.
The Netherlands And Spain Among Other European Countries With Gambling Sponsorship Bans
In July 2025, all forms of gambling sponsorship in sport became prohibited in the Netherlands. It came two years after the government announced a series of restrictions on gambling marketing that would be introduced gradually.
They started off by banning gambling advertising through all media channels like television, radio, newspapers and magazines before extending to public places such as billboards.
The 2020 Royal Decree in Spain also banned all forms of gambling sponsorship deals with sports clubs, whether it be visual branding or associated rights.
At the time, seven of the 20 teams in La Liga had shirt sponsorship deals with gambling firms. The league also had its own official sportsbook, Sportium.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
