Mendoza senator pushes bill to ban online gambling ads and tighten player controls in Argentina

Anabel Fernández Sagasti, the Mendoza senator, has asked for the reproduction of a bill that would create a national regulatory framework for online gambling and betting in Argentina. For PSPs and operators, the interesting part is not the headline ban talk; it is the payment and access rules, because the draft goes straight at advertising, KYC, card type restrictions, and session controls.

1. The initiative was originally filed as S-1300/24 and also carries the signatures of senators Sergio Leavy and Sergio Uñac. It would establish a national framework for online gambling and betting, bringing the issue back into Senate debate.
2. One of the bill’s main goals is to reduce public exposure to digital betting by banning advertising, promotion, sponsorship, and sponsoreo. The restriction would cover media outlets, social networks, and other digital spaces, including campaigns that use athletes, influencers, streamers, and other public figures as promotional faces.
3. Licensed platforms would have to show visible warnings about the risks of compulsive gambling, block access for anyone under 18, and implement biometric recognition or equivalent tools to verify user identity and age. The draft also requires that the person placing the bet be the same person who owns the payment instrument used.
4. On payments, the bill would let users set periodic deposit and spending limits, and it would require platforms to display alerts on time spent and money used. It also says operators should accept only debit cards and virtual wallets, under rules set by the competent authority. Credit cards and other tools that finance betting through future debt would be excluded, as would cards linked to social assistance benefits.
5. The draft adds an automatic disconnection mechanism: after two consecutive hours of activity, the session would close and the user would have to wait ten hours before logging back in. The text says the measure is meant to curb prolonged sessions and behavior associated with compulsive gambling. The bill also refers to fines, suspensions, and loss of license, but the source text stops there.