Google Fined in Italy For Illegal Gambling Ads on YouTube - Newstbt.com

Google has had numerous disputes with government regulators in the past, and its latest conflict is in Italy, where it is receiving a penalty for promoting unlawful gambling on YouTube.

Yesterday, Agcom announced the issuance of a €1.45 million (US$1.47 million) penalty to Google and Top ADS, a content creation company, due to their failure to observe the prohibition imposed on gambling advertisements in Italy. Of that total, Google and its parent company Alphabet were fined €750,000 (US$761,925) while Top ADS had to pay the remaining €700,000 (US$710,990). Picture this irony: As a result of this punishment, a bright Google logo was seen illuminated in an office building in Zurich, Switzerland – just another day for Google.

Just Another Day for Google

Agcom, Italy’s communication watchdog, just approved its first sanction against a video server: Google and Top ADS for allowing advertising of the Spike Slot online gaming information platform within Italy’s digital borders. In contravention of laws introduced in 2019, the sanction forbids the direct or indirect advertising of games, sports, and cultural activities containing betting for cash gains. This was not the first time Google has violated these regulations, as in 2020 they got a fine of €100,000 (US$101,680) for similar conduct on their own platform. The Spike Slot ads were seen extensively throughout YouTube in Italy, implying that Google must have been aware of them due to the content agreement they had with Spike Slot.

The Italian communications watchdog, Agcom, has ordered the cancellation of 625 ads still present on YouTube, as well as the removal of ‘illegal content’ from the famous Italian gambling firm, Spike Slot, within seven days – or risk additional fines. While these fines are relatively small in comparison to the €2.42billion (US$2.46billion) Google was handed by the European Commission for breaching EU antitrust rules, which was one of three hefty fines since 2017 totaling over $8 billion, and with an ongoing ‘gambling conspiracy’ lawsuit in the US, Alphabet is having to fight on numerous fronts. Spike Slot are relatively unknown in comparison.

Spike Slot a Relative Unknown

Spike Slot, as advertised on their website, does not offer any real-money gambling. Rather, this Italy-based platform functions as an affiliate, providing information and reviews of different games and operators. Spike Slot also provides access to free-to-play slots, in addition to paid content from Play’n GO, Pragmatic Play, and more. To showcase and promote their activity, Spike Slot has several YouTube and social media channels. The website claims to host numerous types of content on their five YouTube channels.