Buenos Aires provincial deputy Roberto Vázquez has introduced a bill to charge customers for accessing online betting platforms and physical gambling venues, with proceeds earmarked for preventing and treating gambling-related harm.
The proposal would combine a compulsory access fee with tighter player-protection requirements, including identity checks, self-exclusion controls and gambling limits.
Vázquez, a member of the Frente Renovador within Unión por la Patria, proposes setting the online charge at the equivalent of ten minimum bets in the relevant gambling category. Physical venues would charge an admission fee. According to local outlet 0221, the measure is intended to introduce a financial barrier before gambling begins, rather than primarily raise revenue.
Funds would be directed to a proposed Provincial Fund for the Prevention, Assistance and Treatment of Gambling Addiction. The initiative would support prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research and training, with particular attention to harm affecting children and adolescents.
The bill also proposes limits on the time, frequency and amounts spent gambling on digital platforms. Operators would have to provide alerts showing elapsed time and money wagered, alongside straightforward tools for customers to set stricter personal limits and seek assistance.
Additional safeguards would include strict identity verification to prevent under-18s from accessing gambling, enforcement of self-exclusion and restrictions on promotional bonuses. The province would maintain an updated register of the platforms, venues and operators covered, including their licences and authorised methods for collecting the charge.
The initiative comes as provincial legislators debate several approaches to gambling regulation. In a statement posted on October 28, Vázquez called for Carlos Bianco to meet the Unión por la Patria bloc and clarify Governor Axel Kicillof’s position, saying lawmakers needed to avoid adopting positions that contradicted the provincial executive.
The proposal follows calls from provincial gambling regulator Gonzalo Atanasof for stronger action against illegal online gambling. Addressing a provincial Chamber of Deputies committee, the IPLyC president distinguished unauthorised platforms from licensed operators, which he said must comply with identity-verification requirements intended to prevent underage access.
A separate initiative from provincial senator Federico Fagioli would go further. His proposed “Ley Lula” would prohibit online sports betting and casino games and repeal the existing licensing framework.