Supporters of tighter online gambling controls in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province are still seeking the committee backing needed to move their proposal forward.
Página/12 has reported that the provincial Chamber of Deputies’ gambling committee had held another discussion session but had not secured the signatures required for any of the initiatives under discussion to advance.
The debate centres on bill D-3634/26-27, promoted by provincial deputies Facundo Tignanelli and Micaela Olivetto. The proposal has been referred to the gambling, general legislation, and budget and taxation committees.
Speaking at the 14 October meeting, Olivetto called for “a comprehensive legislative tool to address a problem that is devastating young people’s mental health, undermining community life and causing serious problems of addiction, indebtedness and deeply distressing suffering across the province”, according to Parlamentario.
A joint committee meeting was planned for 19 October, with provincial lottery regulator Gonzalo Atanasof invited, as supporters sought agreement ahead of a possible lower-house session on 20 October. Opposition lawmakers are seeking amendments, leaving the text and timetable subject to further negotiations.
As previously reported by Informar, the 64-article proposal would introduce facial verification at key stages of account use, compulsory breaks between gambling sessions, restrictions on advertising and promotions, and additional enforcement measures against illegal operators. It would also require operators to match their advertising and customer-acquisition expenditure with contributions to a gambling-harm prevention and treatment fund.
At the bill’s earlier presentation, Tignanelli defended the proposed intervention. “We know whose interests we are confronting and we are prepared to do so, because we believe it is right. We must put a stop to the harm these companies are causing – that is what politics is for,” he said, according to Diario Popular.
A separate initiative from provincial deputy Viviana Guzzo would prevent people listed in Buenos Aires province’s child support debtors register from using authorised online gambling services. The proposed restrictions would cover opening or maintaining accounts, depositing money and placing bets, and would also apply to people jointly liable for the debt, according to reporting on the bill.
Guzzo is proposing amendments to provincial Laws 15,079 and 13,074. Her initiative seeks to bring online betting within restrictions already extended to land-based gambling venues.
Neither proposal has been enacted. The broader regulatory bill requires committee agreement before it can progress, while Guzzo’s initiative would introduce a separate eligibility restriction for customers of authorised online gambling platforms.