SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Buenos Aires City Legislator Gabriel Solano has put forward a proposal to annul the local regulated online gambling market out of concerns for childrens’ health.
Solano was quoted as acting on behalf of concerned citizens who have witnessed an increasing number of minors participating in games of chance, or being exposed to gambling advertisements, SBC Noticias wrote.
“Today we see that the negotiation of these companies escalated scandalously since even the most important clubs carry the advertising of betting houses as sponsors on their shirts, making the situation even worse.
“The phenomenon of online betting escalated mainly in teenagers and children. But it is also a problem that affects workers who see the possibility of a way out in the face of the social and economic crisis, unemployment and low wages.”
Since the start of the year, the City of Buenos Aires has implemented increasingly stricter measures to try and circumvent the problem of children gambling which many say is spreading rapidly.
In May, the city’s Codigo Contravencional (Code of Contraventions) was expanded to include tougher penalties on operators, with the goal of ensuring that gambling is promoted and accessible only to those over the age of 18. One of the reasons legislators were concerned was the apparent high level of gambling ads circulating on social media platforms.
Following that, Jorge Macri – the Chief of Government for the City of Buenos Aires – temporarily stopped the issuing of new licences to gambling operators in June, so that even stricter measures could be imposed around age restrictions.
More recently, a campaign to limit gambling ads reaching children was launched in August, this time by the Province of Buenos Aires. Data cited by Julieta Calmels, Undersecretary of Mental Health, highlighted that “34% of minors had some type of experience with betting”.
Looking at a national level, Argentina’s Communications and Media Regulator ENACOM confirmed that since the start of the 2024, it has blocked a total of 1,000 illegal gambling websites – which almost always lack any sorts of safeguards surrounding customer safety.
However, despite the regional counteractive measures in Buenos Aires, Solano concluded by criticising the local government, saying: “Many blocks presented projects that propose palliatives to address child gambling. While the debate continues, we propose that you support the cancellation of online bets immediately so that the damage does not continue to grow. In the debate, our position is very clear: we must end online bookmakers and their business definitively.”
