Argentina sends new online betting reform bill to Congress

President Javier Milei’s government has introduced a broad bill to tighten controls on online betting, block illegal platforms and treat problem gambling as a nationwide public health issue.

Argentina’s national government has submitted a new bill to Congress aimed at preventing gambling addiction and regulating online games of chance. The proposal seeks to organise the virtual betting market, limit advertising and strengthen protections for children and teenagers against access to online gambling platforms. The government also states that pathological gambling prevention should be treated as a public health policy across the country.

The initiative comes as online betting becomes harder to control through Argentina’s fragmented provincial gambling framework. The new bill was drafted by SEDRONAR and carries the signatures of President Javier Milei, Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni, Health Minister Mario Lugones and Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva. Its main goals are to combat unauthorised digital gambling operations, prevent minors from accessing betting platforms and strengthen prevention and treatment policies for problem gambling.

A key part of the bill focuses on illegal platforms. It proposes coordination between the Central Bank, the National Securities Commission, ENACOM and NIC Argentina to block technical and financial access for unauthorised operators. Financial institutions, payment service providers and virtual asset service providers would be banned from serving illegal gambling operators, while NIC Argentina could suspend or disable domains reported by competent authorities.

The bill also proposes a tougher criminal framework. Operators of unauthorised betting platforms could face prison sentences of three to six years. A new offence would also punish companies or individuals that provide essential financial, technological, advertising or digital services to illegal gambling operators, with prison sentences of two to four years.

On advertising, the proposal bans the promotion and sponsorship of illegal gambling platforms across television, radio, outdoor media, social networks and digital environments. It also places responsibility on agencies, media companies, content creators and other intermediaries to verify that any promoted operator has official authorisation. For licensed operators, advertising would not be allowed to target minors, link gambling to economic or social success, or associate betting with alcohol or tobacco use.

The government’s public health approach gives the Ministry of Health and SEDRONAR a central role in prevention, assistance and research. Planned measures include awareness campaigns, educational programmes for children, teenagers and families, training for public-sector teams and the production of epidemiological and statistical data to measure the impact of gambling addiction in Argentina.

The proposal enters Congress while a separate and stricter online betting bill remains stalled in the Senate. In November 2024, the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill on gambling addiction prevention and cyberbetting regulation by 139 votes in favour, 36 against and 59 abstentions. That earlier text included broader advertising restrictions, including limits on betting promotion in professional football broadcasts.

For Argentina’s gambling market, Milei’s proposal signals a shift toward enforcement, financial blocking and public health coordination rather than a full rewrite of the legal betting business. The bill could make life much harder for illegal operators and payment intermediaries, but its final impact will depend on how Congress reconciles it with the stricter opposition-backed proposal already waiting in the Senate.