The gambling committee of the Buenos Aires provincial Chamber of Deputies met on 14 October and again failed to gather the signatures needed to advance bill D-3634/26-27, which would tighten controls on online betting. Three committees are reviewing the text: gambling, general legislation, and budget and taxation. The authors are deputies Facundo Tignanelli and Micaela Olivetto.
What the bill contains
The text runs to 64 articles. It would require biometric facial verification at key stages of account activity, mandatory breaks between playing sessions, restrictions on advertising and promotions, and extra measures against illegal operators. One clause ties spending to contributions: operators would have to weigh advertising and customer acquisition costs against payments into a fund for the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction. At the session Olivetto argued for a legislative tool to stop the rise in addiction, debt and mental health problems among young people.
Supporters had hoped to settle the text before a possible lower-house session on 20 October. A joint committee meeting is set for 19 October, with Gonzalo Atanasof, head of the provincial lottery regulator, invited. Opposition deputies want amendments, so both the wording and the timetable remain under negotiation. Tignanelli said at the bill's presentation that the authors know whose interests they are touching and intend to see it through because they believe it is right.
The debtors proposal
A separate bill from deputy Viviana Guzzo would bar anyone on the provincial alimony debtors register from legal online casinos. The restrictions cover opening and servicing an account, making deposits and placing bets, and extend to jointly liable debtors. Guzzo proposes amendments to provincial laws 15,079 and 13,074 to carry into the online segment the bans that already apply to offline venues. Neither bill has been passed.
