ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Maurizio Marullo, Giorgio Vagnoni and Francesco Amoresano, LAWP Studio legale e tributario
players from their fan base, to increase engagement and connection with local communities. Regulatory attention is increasingly focused on the employment classification of professional players, social security contributions, prize taxation and pro - tection of underage players.
In light of the foregoing, the EU introduced Regulation 2024/1689, designed to manage and prevent poten - tial threats arising from the use of AI. This regulation defines four distinct risk levels, with all applications deemed to pose an unacceptable risk – such as those intended for fraudulent purposes – being strictly pro - hibited. For the remaining three risk levels, the regu - lation imposes progressively stricter obligations to ensure responsible AI use. 10.3 The Metaverse The metaverse offers many opportunities for rev - enue generation and enhancing the fan experience. For example, clubs can duplicate ticketing revenues through the creation of their own stadium in the metaverse, and fans can enjoy an immersive experi - ence within a sporting event, wherever they are. However, the integration of the metaverse in sports also raises significant concerns, echoing issues relat - ed to AI and personal data management (see 10.2 AI ). The primary risks involve the potential for unauthor - ised leakage and misuse of sensitive personal data, including images and biometric information of users. Additionally, the ability to monitor user habits within the metaverse could lead to undue influence on con - sumer behaviour and personal choices, posing ethical and privacy challenges.
10. NFTs, AI and the Metaverse 10.1 Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
NFTs are not regulated by Italian law, and await specific regulations at national and European levels. Law oper - ators are trying to regulate NFTs through the analogi - cal application of several pieces of legislation regard - ing similar assets (eg, in terms of copyright, money laundering, consumer protection, etc). Owing to the popularity of NFTs with sports fans, sports organisa - tions and athletes are entering into agreements with NFT companies in order to create unique collections to be placed on the market – though, despite an initial period of excitement, the interest seems to be waning. 10.2 AI The use of AI is pivotal in sports for improving perfor - mance and scouting (see 5.7 Data in Sport ). It offers a better match experience to fans (eg, live statistics), provides more accurate refereeing during competi - tions (eg, VAR/Instant Replay, Hawk-Eye, etc), and enhances sponsorship, ticketing and media oppor - tunities by better targeting audiences and tailoring marketing products. Despite its potential, AI also poses serious risks, espe - cially in relation to the use of people’s biometric data for illegal purposes, and indirectly increases the risk of personal data breaches (eg, data of fans). For these reasons, sports organisations are required to make investments in cybersecurity and monitoring systems to prevent potential risks.
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