The municipality of Castelli, in Argentina's Buenos Aires province, has passed an ordinance banning access to online betting in municipal buildings and schools, becoming the first municipality in the province to do so.
Francisco Echarren, Mayor of Castelli, said: "I can proudly say that Castelli is the first municipality in Argentina to ban access to online betting."
Beyond the ban on municipal and school premises, the municipality said it will seek an agreement with Cooperativa CUECCA, its local internet service provider, to block access to betting websites across the district. The municipality said the initiative will also involve schools.
Echarren linked the measure to concerns over problem gambling among minors. He said: "We don't want our kids gambling in schools. We have heard of cases where kids turn to prostitution, sell drugs, or run up debts in their parents' names without their parents knowing. It is a scourge that is consuming the future generation of Argentina and of Buenos Aires province."
Echarren also framed the ban in political terms, calling on his own Peronist movement to act on the issue. He said: "Peronism cannot look the other way. Peronism has to ban gambling, online betting, for minors, protect them and build an Argentina whose foundation is not gambling but work."
The municipality said the plan to block betting sites will be carried out in coordination with local schools. In its statement, the municipality said online betting is now prohibited in the district and framed the measure as an effort to prevent residents from developing gambling problems.
The ordinance makes Castelli one of the few Argentine municipalities to adopt local measures aimed at restricting access to online betting, an activity regulated at the provincial level across most of the country, including in Buenos Aires province through the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos.
The municipality named Cooperativa CUECCA, its local internet provider, as the partner it will work with to block betting sites
