Italians can now legally bet on the Miss Italy contest because of a change in gaming rules.

The pageant folks aren’t too pleased:

"We're people, not objects or, worse, animals," complained Anna Prete, the "Miss Calabria" from the southern region of the same name and one of the many finalists unhappy with the government-sponsored scheme.

...Miss Italy purists are appalled at what they see is the vulgarization of a 66-year-old national institution and the competition's founder, Enzo Mirigliani wrote to the government to complain.

Allowing bets "damages the girls' dignity, bringing them down to the level of champion racehorses," he wrote, according to Il Messaggero.