The Italian government has banned gambling advertisements throughout the country. Many of the clubs in Italy have sponsorships with gambling companies and were thought to have to sever ties with them by the start of the New Year. However, the country’s communications regulatory committee has permitted the clubs to continue with their existing betting deals until the end of the season. The ban will apply to all gambling related products and services across all media platforms. Sports clubs are prohibited from carrying sponsors for the industry. Serie A, in wake of the news, expressed their discontent with the ban, arguing that the new rules would create a disparity with other European countries and bring competitive disadvantages to Italian clubs. At the moment, more than half of the Serie A clubs have sponsorship deals with gambling related companies. Lazio have online sports betting company Marathonbet as their official shirt sponsor. The league estimates that the ban would represent a loss of €700 million.