Roberto Vázquez proposes access charge for Buenos Aires gambling platforms

Buenos Aires provincial lawmaker Roberto Vázquez, of the Frente Renovador, has presented a bill that would establish a mandatory access charge for online betting platforms and gambling venues in the province, according to the text of the proposal. The bill, file D-3783/26-27, is now part of the legislature's debate on gambling regulation.

Under the proposal, the charge for digital platforms would equal the value of 10 minimum bets in the relevant game mode. Physical establishments would charge an entrance fee before entry. Proceeds would go to programmes for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research and training on problem gambling, with particular attention to gambling addiction among minors.

The bill also sets limits on playing time, frequency and amounts, alerts on time elapsed and money staked, user identification mechanisms and self-exclusion options. It provides restrictions to prevent access by minors and requires the province to keep an updated register of the establishments, platforms and operators covered by the regime.

Vázquez said the main purpose is preventive rather than fiscal, describing a specific point of reflection and an economic barrier before gambling begins. He said the aim is for the resources generated by the restriction to return to society in the form of prevention and treatment.

The bill joins other proposals before the legislature. One is the Régimen Integral de Prevención y Regulación de las Apuestas en Línea, presented by lawmakers Facundo Tignanelli and Micaela Olivetto, which would strengthen controls on authorised operators, limit advertising and promotional bonuses, add biometric checks and create a specialised prosecutor's office for illegal online betting.

During discussion of that proposal, Gonzalo Atanasof, president of the Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos (IPLyC Buenos Aires), warned about the size of the illegal market and the need to strengthen tools against it. Estimates mentioned at that meeting put illegal gambling in Argentina at about $3.6bn.

The debate also includes a bill by senator Federico Fagioli that would ban online betting by repealing articles 146 to 173 of provincial law 15.079. The proposal, called “Ley Lula”, would block access to platforms, prohibit their advertising and set a deadline for operators to return users' available balances.