Lawmakers in two Argentinian provinces have pushed this week for tighter restrictions on online gambling platforms.
The request came after citing data showing widespread use of the sites among minors, with legislators in Tucumán proposing an outright ban and Buenos Aires province deputies demanding stronger enforcement of existing rules.
In Tucumán, legislature VP Alfredo “Fredy” Toscano introduced a bill, backed by legislators Carlos Najar and Roberto Moreno, to prohibit the organization, marketing, operation and advertising of online gambling and sports betting throughout the province, covering websites, mobile apps and other digital platforms.
The bill is only aimed at online gambling and would not affect regulated physical gambling.
The proposal calls for the technical blocking of betting sites, a ban on their advertising in media and on social platforms, and a 90-day transition period during which licensed operators would have to stop accepting new signups and deposits while refunding existing balances to local users.
Fines collected under the law would go exclusively toward mental health and gambling addiction prevention programs.
The bill cites UNICEF data showing eight in 10 adolescents and young people accessed betting platforms in the past year or know someone who did, with more than half of them intending to make money.
It also references an Argentinian Red Cross survey of more than 11,000 secondary school students in which 16% said they had bet at some point, 83% of them from their own phone.
In Buenos Aires Province, deputies Valentín Miranda, Diego Garciarena, Sabrina Sabat and Fernando Coronel took part in a forum on digital gambling regulation at the National University of La Plata, where they called on the provincial lottery and casino agency to increase oversight of platforms operating under the province's jurisdiction.
The lawmakers noted the province announced a plan in 2024 that included biometric identity verification for betting platform users.
Miranda said he had filed requests for information on the status of those controls, on blocking betting sites at schools and on creating an observatory on adolescent gambling addiction, but had not received a response.
The province reported in July that it had blocked 537 illegal online betting sites, with the lottery agency warning that unlicensed platforms lack adequate identity verification and can ease minors' access to gambling.
Two online gambling platforms are currently authorized in Tucumán: Pálpitos and TucuApuestas
