Online betting giant bet365 has added a formidable new partner to its brand building mission in Italy.

The online betting firm has secured a deal with Juventus, one of the most storied clubs in the history of Italian football and its top flight league, Serie A.

Direct deals between betting companies and football clubs are banned in Italy under the 2018 Dignity Decree, much to the chagrin of both the local betting industry and football financiers.

bet365 and the Italian football workaround

Continued cooperation has been enabled via ‘infotainment’ deals – signed between an operator’s media brand, which often carries its name or brand, and a football club.

This is exactly the kind of deal bet365 and Juventus have signed. The Turin club has named bet365 Scores, the firm’s media and livescore platform, its ‘official sports infotainment partner’.

A Juventus statement asserted that the deal will benefit the club’s fans by providing digital content, real-time information and solutions which will “accompany the Bianconeri passion at every moment of the day”.

“The partnership stems from a shared desire to put fans at the center, offering them simple, immediate and customisable tools to follow their favorite team, stay updated on results and access live data and statistics wherever they are: at home, on the move, at work or at the stadium.”

The bookmaker is no stranger to infotainment deals, with bet365 Scores having partnered with SSC Napoli last summer.

Italian football’s betting conundrum

Italy is one of Europe’s largest betting markets, widely considered either the biggest or the second biggest after the UK in terms of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).

According to the Blask index, Italy is the third largest in Europe after the UK and Russia with a Competitive Earnings Baseline of US$6.4bn (£4.7bn/€5.6bn) spread across 185 brands.

The country’s betting sector is now more than half way through its first full year under a new regulated market established in November 2025. 

Reception to the new framework has been positive, with the tax framework often compared favourably to more burdensome ones seen in the UK, Netherlands and Germany.

The success of the market can be seen in tax returns, with the Italian government declaring some €6.66bn in non-lottery gambling tax and duties in 2025.

Operators like Betsson are also counting Italy as one of their most important markets. For its part, bet365 is the fourth biggest brand in the country according to the Blask index.

The absence of football sponsorships remains a sticking point, however, although it is one which the government may be more open to reviewing after the Italian national football team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time this year.

This event, known as ‘La Apocalypsia’ in the Italian press, has led to public discussion on whether a reversal of the Dignity Decree will help the finances of the domestic Italian football scene.

Betting sponsorships were subsequently a key talking point during the last election for the President of the Italian Football Federation (IFF), though the candidate more in favour of reversing the decree, Giancarlo Abete, was not successful in his bid for leadership.