Lazio’s high-profile sponsorship agreement with prediction market platform Polymarket has come to an end following a ruling that declared the site illegal in Italy.
The Serie A club had entered into a partnership with Polymarket back in April 2026, making the platform its main commercial partner for multiple seasons.
The deal was structured to cover the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign, followed by the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons, with an option to extend into 2028/29.
The total value of the agreement was reported at US$22 million, equivalent to approximately €19 million, representing a major financial injection for the Roman club.
Lazio had been without a main shirt sponsor for nearly three years before securing the arrangement, making the Polymarket deal a significant commercial milestone.
Polymarket was positioned not as a gambling operator but as the club’s official fan intelligence and digital insight partner, reflecting Italy’s strict restrictions on gambling-related marketing.
Italy has maintained an outright ban on gambling sponsorships in sport since the introduction of the so-called Dignity Decree in 2018, which restricts how betting brands can operate commercially in the country.
Polymarket had previously faced a ban in Italy but successfully challenged that decision at an administrative tribunal, which suspended the ruling and allowed the platform to continue operating in the interim.
However, before the court delivered a final verdict, Italian authorities issued a new ban against the platform, and Polymarket subsequently lost its appeal to be classified as a prediction market rather than a gambling operation.
With the site formally ruled illegal, Lazio faced a legal obligation to terminate the agreement, as advertising an unlicensed betting operation is prohibited under Italian penal law.
The club confirmed the contract was dissolved by mutual consent, bringing a swift end to what had been billed as an innovative sponsorship arrangement between a top-flight football club and one of the world’s largest prediction platforms.
Despite the early termination, Lazio secured a financially favourable exit, with Polymarket agreeing to honour its full payment obligations for the 2026/27 sporting season, worth approximately €9.5 million.
As part of the settlement, both parties indicated they were leaving the door open for a potential future collaboration should the regulatory circumstances around Polymarket’s status in Italy change.
