Italian football "faces a sponsorship crisis" following a government proposal to ban all gambling advertising, including sponsorship or promotional deals with gambling companies, according to Paul Nicholson of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. The ban has to be approved by parliament within two months but would come into effect on Jan. 1. More than half of the clubs in Serie A currently have deals with betting and gaming companies and the league said that it is monitoring the situation with "extreme concern." The ban is part of the so-called "Dignity Decree," which is a package of new measures from the new government "mainly aimed at protecting and creating new jobs and social stability." Serie A said that the government's proposed measures "would be ineffective in tackling addiction," saying that the focus instead should be on "education, prevention, and awareness." The European Gaming & Betting Association said that "each year gambling operators contribute about 120 million euros ($141M) to sponsor sports teams and leagues in Italy" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 7/6).
