Lotería de Santa Fe, in Argentina, has released a new video for its “No garpa” campaign, a slang term for “Not worth it,” to prevent illegal gambling and online betting among children and teenagers.
The video uses sports jerseys printed with messages about debt, loans and underage betting.
The messages include phrases that translate as “It doesn’t pay to ask for money you can’t pay back,” “It doesn’t pay to bet as a minor” and “Betting is not a game.”
The video closes with the line “so that debt does not shape your future.”
Lotería points to the spread of digital platforms and the ease of accessing betting through phones and social media and treats sports clubs as a central setting for prevention, together with coaches, officials and families.
The effort is part of a provincial strategy that includes criminal complaints against unauthorized sites, joint work with the Public Prosecution Service and measures to limit access to illegal platforms.
The regulator originally launched No garpa in August 2025 at the Newell’s Old Boys and Rosario Central clubs, where sports psychologist Rafael Sancho gave talks to athletes and technical staff on the risks of betting on unauthorized platforms.
A later phase added players from Newell’s, Rosario Central, Unión and Colón. Lotería has since extended the campaign to schools, neighborhood clubs and sporting events.
A provincial law approved unanimously in November 2024 creates a framework to prevent problem gambling, bans credit and loans in gaming areas and requires prevention messages with the slogan “Betting is not a game” at major events broadcast on provincial channels and relevant sporting events.
Lotería de Santa Fe officials said in 2025 that at least 40,000 young people in the province had bet on platforms operating without authorization.
Santa Fe authorized online sports betting in December, 2025 to operate under the supervision of the provincial lottery
