This is the affair that shakes Italian football. For several days, three Italian internationals, Nicolò Fagioli, Nicolò Zaniolo and Sandro Tonali, have been accused of this scandal of addiction to sports betting on an illegal platform. If the reactions continue in Italy, footballing institutions like the Italian Federation in the Giorgia Meloni government, the clubs indirectly involved, like Newcastle where Tonali plays, also want to react. In the case of the Magpies, Newcastle management was asked to “be united” with its player by removing advertising linked to betting on the barriers of the St James’Park stadium. The English club currently has partnerships with three online betting companies – Fun88, Sportsbet.io and BetMGM.
The former Italian midfielder, whose lawyer claims he would have played “playing poker and blackjack on illegal online platforms”, is forced to wear the logo of the gambling company BK8 on the front of his club jersey. In England, the Aston Villa club, in which Nicolò Zaniolo plays, also has another partnership with the betting brand Duelbits: “Newcastle United and Aston Villa should stand in solidarity with their players and review their relationships with gambling companies. “We wouldn’t force a drug addict to work somewhere with a wall advert showing the dealer’s number – why wouldn’t the same be true for gambling?”, said The Big Step, part of the Gambling with Lives charity. Note that the Premier League has banned gambling advertising on the front of jerseys from the end of the 2025/2026 season following pressure from the government.
