Jorge Macri: “We blocked all gambling sites on our public schools' Internet network"

The Government of the City of Buenos Aires informed that the Head of Government, Jorge Macri, has met with specialists in problem gambling and techno-addiction to analyze the impact of online gambling and betting, especially in teenagers, as well as the different measures that are being promoted to face this problem. Furthermore, officials highlighted "the joint work with educational institutions, directors, families, and specialists."

"Today, students at recess have changed the traditional soccer ball and action figure for betting on their cellphones. And that is dangerous. Online gambling is one of the most serious problems in schools. As we always do, we listen to the concerns of residents and seek comprehensive answers", said Macri during the meeting, which was also attended by the Minister of Education, Mercedes Miguel, and the Minister of Human Development and Habitat, Gabriel Mraida.

Among the measures being put forward, the government of Buenos Aires pointed out that it is promoting a mental health protocol in which gambling addiction is treated as any other addiction and that, within this framework, it has decided to block gambling websites on the Internet network of the city's public schools.

Estamos trabajando para llegar antes y frenar la ludopatía infantil.@jorgemacri pic.twitter.com/MuuAgXrLOv

— Gabriel Mraida (@gabimraida) May 27, 2024

"The immediate response we gave was to block all gambling sites on the Internet network of our public schools. Unfortunately, that does not guarantee that students will not access these sites because they can continue to do so through 4G technology. But it discourages them. Our schools should be a place of care, support, and learning. We already know what happens when we pretend to be distracted by issues that we generalize or consider minor," said Macri, who had also provided this information in a recent interview on the TN channel.

The city also carries out awareness campaigns and educational workshops, such as the "Lo que está en juego" program ("What is at stake"), which seeks to educate on the responsible use of technology.

In 2023, there was an outburst of gambling activities among teenagers and, according to an IBOPE survey, out of 10,000 cases surveyed, 8.3% claimed to have ever gambled online; 12.5% of gamblers are young people and teenagers (15-24 years old) and online gambling is more prevalent in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (9.1%) and in lower socioeconomic areas.