Betting and gambling addiction, a new scandal for Italian football

Several players from the Italian national team and Serie A are involved in an incident that will cost them months, if not years, of disqualification

In the 1980s, football stadiums in several Italian cities became the stages for a surreal scene: police vans practically burst onto the field to arrest certain players involved in an underground betting scandal.

Forty years later, this scene seems to be repeating itself, with a modern twist that makes it even more worrying in some ways. Apparently, the world of football is once again caught up in a scandal, but this time the problem is online betting, not match-fixing. What’s worse, it seems that many of the younger participants – mostly in their twenties or so – are actually developing severe gambling addictions.

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Illegal betting and gambling, Italian football in the storm

This time there were no vans, but when the Guardia di Finanza agents showed up at the technical headquarters in Coverciano to deliver an investigation notice to the players Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo, in the middle of preparations with the Italian national team for an important European qualifying match the following year, it became clear to everyone that another storm was brewing around Italian football.

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A few hours later, it was learned that Nicolò Fagioli, a promising young player for Juventus, was also under investigation.

The Italian media is still producing a steady stream of news that, day after day, involves new players of suspected or confirmed guilt, based on revelations by third parties in pursuit of sensationalism, such as the controversial photographer-entrepreneur Fabrizio Corona.

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Football and betting: Corona revelations and disqualifications

Sports legislation states that Italian cardholding members cannot bet on sporting events except on authorised platforms, where each operation remains traceable.

The ongoing investigations, which apparently concern a wide circle of prominent footballers, are outlining a worrying picture: bets placed on clandestine platforms, with tricks to avoid any data traceability.

Some of the players involved – such as Fagioli, who voluntarily reported himself to the police – appear to have accumulated millions of euros in debt, victims of gambling addiction.

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Illegal betting: how to recognise legal online platforms

At any level, illegal betting must always be condemned, because those managing it operate without rules, with dirty money, and are devoid of any responsibility or control by current regulations.

When we talk about rules, we don’t mean that this is merely a tax issue. The regulation of online gambling and betting is also aimed at ensuring that platforms are under the supervision of public authorities and fall within national jurisdiction. Only authorised ADM (the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency) platforms guarantee a service in accordance with the law.

At its core, this isn’t just about preventing obscure intermediaries (who are almost always linked to organised crime) from replacing legitimate companies that operate legally with complete transparency. It is mostly about raising public awareness of the risks and dangers this seemingly innocent pastime can entail when it transforms into an addiction, a true disease that is capable of ruining lives.

These footballers, who have already tasted success and signed contracts in the millions, do not appear to have rigged any matches, at least not at this point in the investigation. They have simply spiralled out of control from a life that has become too easy, with a boredom that can only be assuaged by filling their time off the field with an invigorating and potentially lucrative activity.

Betting is a game that must walk a fine line, with a need for legality, transparency, and protection for the players themselves, but this new scandal with Italian football tells us that this is not enough: we cannot forget that in addition to talent, success, and money, there are still plenty of other values needed to grow up.

It is a matter of education and culture, long before it becomes an issue of legality. While the responsibility may superficially lay with these football players, it has actually uncovered a much deeper problem that concerns all of society.

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