Buenos Aires bans online gambling for registered child-support debtors

Buenos Aires City (CABA) has introduced a restriction that blocks registered child-support debtors from signing up for or using online gambling platforms authorized by LOTBA, the city lottery regulator. For PSPs and operators, the important part is not the headline policy but the enforcement model: automated, real-time checks against a public register, with immediate suspension requirements for existing accounts.

1. The measure applies to all online products administered by LOTBA, including games of chance, games of skill, and any other online format the city lottery operates. In other words, this is not a narrow casino-only rule; it reaches the full licensed online stack under the regulator’s umbrella.
2. The restriction relies on the Registro Público de Alimentantes Morosos (RPAM), the public database of people reported for failing to meet child-support obligations. Anyone listed in RPAM is automatically barred from operating on LOTBA platforms, whether they already have an active account or are trying to open a new one.
3. Jorge Macri, head of government for Buenos Aires City, said the logic mirrors existing local restrictions that already prevent child-support debtors from entering stadiums and mass events. The city is now extending that same logic to online betting and gambling.
4. Operators are required to query RPAM automatically and in real time before allowing any new user registration. The point is to stop a simple work-around where a blocked user signs up first and gets screened later. For compliance teams, that means the KYC flow now has to sit on top of a live register check, not a manual review queue.
5. If a person is added to the register after already having an active account, LOTBA must suspend the account immediately and notify both the register and the city’s judiciary. Failure to comply can trigger sanctions under the applicable sector rules, the terms of the operator’s permit, and the City’s Régimen de Faltas.

Jesús Acevedo, president of LOTBA, backed the law and framed it as part of the regulator’s responsible gambling policy, while also stressing its use as a tool to protect children and teenagers. For operators, the practical takeaway is straightforward: in Buenos Aires, access to licensed online gambling is now tied to an external public-status check that can override an otherwise valid customer relationship.