Argentina Senate pushes online betting regulation as November 30 deadline approaches

Argentina’s Senate has moved to fast-track a bill on problem gambling prevention and online betting regulation, after the lower house approved it almost two years ago and the clock started ticking on parliamentary expiration. For PSPs and operators in the market, the key point is simple: the bill is still alive, but only if the Senate acts before November 30.

1. The bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on November 27, 2024 and has sat in the Senate ever since. If the upper house does not take it up before the end of the ordinary session on November 30, the text will lose parliamentary status and would have to restart the legislative process from scratch.
2. To avoid that outcome, Senator Lucía Corpacci of Catamarca proposed a motion of preference to put the bill on the Senate agenda. The motion was approved unanimously by the senators present, by a show of hands, during an ordinary session held more than three hours after it began.
3. The motion does not approve the bill and does not guarantee a vote before the deadline. What it does is give the initiative priority for discussion, with Corpacci asking for it to be handled first in a committee plenary and then included in the extraordinary sessions agenda.
4. The bill covers restrictions on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship for gambling platforms. The scope mentioned in the text includes media, social networks, public spaces, and sportswear, which is the part that matters most to operators relying on brand visibility and affiliate-style acquisition.
5. The draft also sets prison terms of three to eight years for anyone who operates gambling systems without authorization. It was originally introduced in the Chamber of Deputies by Mónica Frade.

Corpacci tied the debate to the Mental Health Law reform and argued that ludopathy should be treated as a health issue. She also recalled a presentation from the Episcopal Commission that warned about the consequences, though the source text cuts off before completing that reference.