Buenos Aires provincial senator Federico Fagioli has introduced a bill to ban online betting. The proposal covers slots, roulette, blackjack, poker and sports betting.
The initiative has been dubbed the 'Lula Law', after the iGaming ban introduced by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva late last month. Fagioli is a member of Fuerza Patria.
The bill repeals Chapter VIII of Online Gambling Regulation Law No. 15,079. Licences granted under it would be cancelled.
Lotteries, quinielas and raffles would remain, along with electronic sale of games without bets or cash prizes. The text separately bans pre-match and live betting, online casinos, bets on virtual events whose outcome depends wholly or mainly on chance, and any game risking money for a prize or financial return.
Fagioli argues digital platforms give 'immediate, permanent and geographically unrestricted' access to betting. He says regulators must reassess whether licensing can prevent problem behaviour. The question is wider: whether some forms of gambling fit with the province's public health remit.
What operators face
If passed, operators could not take new deposits, top-ups or transfers for bets or banned games. Within 10 days they would have to stop new games and sessions, pull advertising, promos, bonuses and sponsorship, and block access for users in the province.
Within 30 days they would have to return each player's full available balance and file an individual report with the Provincial Institute of Lotteries and Casinos, covering balances, unsettled bets, prizes and refunds.
Advertising, programming, promo, marketing, sponsorship and any commercial communication promoting online betting directly or indirectly would also be banned. The list names influencer campaigns, affiliate marketing, bonuses and promo codes. For affiliate teams the point is direct. Casino and betting offers would become illegal.
More than 22 online betting bills sit in the provincial Chamber of Deputies, with at least 3 in the Senate. Last week the lower-house committee on gambling, lotteries and addiction prevention started talks on a unified bill. None proposes a full ban. Deputy Facundo Tignanelli said he personally backs a ban, but it needs a national law.
