Argentina faces renewed pressure to advance online gambling bill
Argentina’s Catholic Church and opposition lawmakers are pressing the Senate to advance legislation restricting online gambling advertising before ordinary parliamentary sessions end on 30 November.
The Episcopal Commission for Social Ministry (CEPAS) has launched a petition supporting the gambling-harm prevention bill. Deputies led by Victoria Tolosa Paz have also requested talks with the Senate committees responsible for examining it.
The proposal passed the Chamber of Deputies on 27 November 2024 by 139 votes to 36, with 59 abstentions, but still requires Senate approval before it can become law.
In an October letter to senators, CEPAS called for lawmakers to resume consideration immediately and reach the agreements necessary to pass the legislation.
“Doing nothing is also a decision,” the commission warned, arguing that gambling-related harm was already affecting families, schools, sports clubs and communities, particularly children and people in vulnerable circumstances.
The intervention follows earlier appeals to Congress, including a request for lower-house consideration in November 2024 and another to the Senate in February 2025.
Senators unanimously backed a motion proposed by Lucía Corpacci on 29 October to prioritise the legislation. That procedural step does not guarantee a vote or secure approval of the underlying proposal.
While ordinary sessions end on 30 November, the bill retains parliamentary status until 1 March 2027, according to La Nación. November therefore represents the remaining opportunity for consideration during the ordinary parliamentary period.
Consideration during extraordinary sessions would require the executive to include the proposal on the agenda. Any amendments approved by senators would send the text back to the Chamber of Deputies for further consideration.
Advertising and sponsorship restrictions
The bill would prohibit online gambling advertising across television, radio, social media and other channels, including promotion through influencers, athletes, celebrities and other public figures.
Restrictions would extend to sports sponsorships, stadium naming rights and gambling advertising on sports clothing and inside grounds. Promotion at concerts, festivals and other cultural events would also be prohibited.
An exception would allow advertising and promotion inside authorised gambling premises, betting agencies and lottery outlets. Such material would have to carry prominent health warnings and information about assistance services.
The proposal also prohibits welcome bonuses and access by under-18s, while imposing identity checks on operators. Platforms would have to use facial recognition connected to the national population register, RENAPER, to verify users’ identity and age.
Those checks would apply at registration, at the start of each session, during play and before payment of winnings. Payment providers offering electronic wallets would also have to implement measures preventing their use by minors for gambling.
Credit-card gambling payments would be banned. Electronic wallets could use only money already held in the account, without access to credit functions, and would be subject to daily transaction limits.
A proposed national self-exclusion register would integrate information from provincial systems and cover jurisdictions without their own registers. Operators would have to identify registered users and prevent them from gambling until their exclusion ended.