Before Pope Leo XIV arrives, the Argentine Church pressed the Senate to pass the online gambling bill

The Argentine Episcopal Conference (CEA) used a press briefing to push senators to approve a bill regulating online betting and preventing child and youth gambling addiction before the end of the month. For PSPs and acquirers active in Argentina, the timing matters: the bill could lapse on 30 November if it does not clear the Senate.

1. Monseñor Raúl Pizarro, secretary general of the CEA, urged senators to move the bill along before it loses parliamentary status. The lower house approved the initiative in November 2024, and the current session ends on 30 November.
2. Pizarro tied the legislative urgency to Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to Argentina, saying that letting the measure die would also mean “the death of many families” and “many young people” affected by virtual child and youth gambling addiction.
3. The papal visit will take place between 8 and 11 November under the motto “Bienvenidos todos, vayan y anuncien.” According to the CEA, the slogan combines an inclusive message with a missionary call to action.
4. Monseñor Marcelo Colombo, president of the CEA, said the Argentine bishops will meet Leo XIV as a body for the first time, describing the moment as one of “much inner fullness” for the local Church.
5. One of the central stops on the itinerary is the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole, scheduled for Monday 9 November. The site covers 50 hectares, houses 410 people with disabilities across 14 buildings, and also includes a school, a therapeutic education center, and rehabilitation workshops.

For the payments side, the relevant detail is not the papal schedule itself but the Senate calendar. If the bill fails to pass before 30 November, it loses parliamentary status, and the current debate on online betting rules in Argentina resets instead of producing immediate compliance changes for operators and their processors.