Corrientes deputies advance online gambling prevention plan for schools

The Chamber of Deputies of Corrientes gave preliminary approval to a bill creating a Provincial Plan for the Prevention of Online Gambling Addiction in the education sector, the chamber's press office said. The bill was approved during the 18th session of the provincial lower house, held on 28 October, and now goes to the Senate of Corrientes for consideration.

The plan would cover students in the compulsory levels of both public and private institutions. It provides for awareness-raising among students about gambling and online gambling, their risks and consequences, and for training and tools for schools to detect early signs linked to the urge to bet and to respond appropriately. It also sets out an integral, interdisciplinary and individualised approach that takes account of each student's social, economic, family and emotional circumstances, and includes financial education content and the promotion of responsible use of information technologies.

Under the bill, when an educational institution detects in a student conduct linked to the use, abuse or addiction to gambling, whether online or in person, it must intervene through its pedagogical and/or interdisciplinary team. That intervention would lead to an individualised action plan intended to guarantee the student's continuity of education and right to education.

Lorena Lazaroff, the deputy who authored the initiative, said the issue had to be addressed from a preventive perspective. "La ludopatía no es un problema del futuro, es un problema del presente", she said, warning about the growth of online betting among children and adolescents. Lazaroff cited data attributed to UNICEF in Argentina indicating that 24% of young people play and bet online, and said access to these practices can begin at early ages, around 13.

The source also notes that the Chamber of Senators of Corrientes and the provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos recently concluded a two-year alliance to bring Responsible Gambling programmes to the community. The agreement, signed by vice-governor and Senate president Pedro Braillard Poccard, is intended to reduce exposure to the risks of digital betting, with particular focus on children and young people, through direct work with schools, clubs and municipalities, and combines training with assistance and referral services for cases of problem gambling.