Argentina bill would bar child-support defaulters from casinos and state-authorised online gambling platforms

Lawmakers filed a proposal to create a federal register of unpaid child-support obligations, triggering nationwide “ineligibility” that would block access to casinos, bingo halls, betting shops and authorised online gaming accounts.

Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies has received a new bill (Expediente 7399-D-2025, dated 27 February 2026) that would create a Registro Federal de Incumplidores de Obligaciones Alimentarias and establish a nationwide “ineligibility” regime for people who fail to comply with court-ordered child support. The initiative was filed by deputies Guillermo Michel and Marianela Marclay (Entre Ríos), with additional signatories listed on the official record.

According to coverage of the draft text, an active registration in the federal register would bar the individual from entering and remaining in casinos, bingo halls, betting shops, and state-authorised online gaming platforms, with the aim of preventing debtors from bypassing provincial restrictions by moving across jurisdictions.

The proposal is framed as a response to a structural enforcement gap. UNICEF has previously reported that 56% of mothers in Argentina do not receive child support when the father does not live in the household, rising to 68% when irregular payments are included—figures that lawmakers cite as evidence of widespread non-compliance.

The bill is now routed to committees (Justice; Families, Children and Youth; Budget and Finance), and the next key step will be whether lawmakers translate the headline “ban” into practical, enforceable checks for both land-based venues and licensed online platforms without creating loopholes that push demand into unregulated channels.