Overview
- The Chamber of Deputies approved the anti‑gambling bill on Nov. 27, 2024, and the measure now sits in the Senate at risk of losing parliamentary status when ordinary sessions end on Nov. 30, 2026.
- Senator Patricia Bullrich has said she will seek to bring the bill to debate in the coming weeks, signaling a push within the Senate to move the file that has stalled for nearly two years.
- The draft law bundles strict rules including a ban on gambling advertising and sponsorships, biometric age and identity checks linked to the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER), limits on payment methods, a national self‑exclusion registry and criminal penalties for unauthorized operators.
- The call for urgent action is backed by the Argentine Episcopal Conference, a public Change.org petition and a letter from academics and clinicians, who cite studies showing high youth exposure to online betting and mental‑health harms.
- If the Senate does not act, the bill would need to be reintroduced and restart committee review, delaying protections while raising contested issues about privacy, enforcement and the online betting industry’s commercial interests.