Argentina: Proposed ban on online gambling ads moves forward after scandal in Chamber of Deputies

A plenary session formed by the Commissions of Addiction Prevention and Drug Trafficking Control; Social Action and Public Health; Communications and Information Technology; Criminal Legislation; and Families, Children, and Youth of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies issued a majority opinion for the regulation of online gambling and the prevention of problem gambling, which is ready to be dealt with in Congress. 

After a tense debate, which included strong disputes among legislators, mainly concerning the prohibition of gambling advertising, the opposition led by the Civic Coalition, with the contribution of Unión por la Patria, Encuentro Federal and Democracia para Siempre, which brings together the critical radicals, obtained 90 signatures and thus moved forward with their proposal, while the Republican Proposal (PRO), with the support from the Radical Civic Union (UCR) and Legislative Liberal Party (LLA), obtained a minority vote.

The majority opinion lists all the sites where the promotion of online and sports betting would be prohibited. It covers platforms, social networks, billboards on public roads, and broadcast media to non-traditional advertising (NTP) or sponsorship of sports teams or individual athletes, and also includes the prohibition of welcome bonuses and reaches influencers.

Opponents will try to push the ruling to the Chamber before the end of the year.

Deputies' arguments

Margarita Stolbizer, from the political party Encuentro Federal, expressed her support for the law, and stated: "We must be aware of this issue, which touches many political and economic interests."

Then, Maximiliano Ferraro (CC), author of one of the bills, referred to the influence of the gambling industry and the consequences for health: "We must set clear limits to the gambling epidemic."

📢 ¡TENEMOS DICTAMEN PARA LA PREVENCIÓN DE LA LUDOPATÍA Y REGULACIÓN DEL JUEGO EN LÍNEA! 📢

Hoy, con 90 firmas, logramos en @DiputadosAR un dictamen histórico, fruto de meses de trabajo, para responder al reclamo de miles de argentinos afectados por el juego compulsivo y la… pic.twitter.com/SahoVu3Gat

— maxi ferraro 🎗️ (@maxiferraro) November 13, 2024

Meanwhile, Congresswoman Constanza Alonso (UXP) said: “The naturalization of advertising makes young people prone to use these platforms."

In turn, her peer of the same party Agustina Propato signed the majority opinion "with partial dissent", since the treatment of virtual wallets is still pending.

For her part, Deputy Silvana Giudici (PRO) referred to the minority opinion, which according to her was "simplified", presented with the support of the UCR and LLA, considering that "the other resolution is too regulatory and extensive, which complicates the evaluation of the constitutionality of the regulation."

Estamos en el plenario de comisiones para firmar el dictamen para combatir la ludopatía infantil que surge de un consenso entre los bloques del Pro, Mid, LLA y UCR. Para eliminar toda publicidad directa o indirecta por cualquier vía de los casinos online. También incorporamos… pic.twitter.com/oN2zOXLdvC

— Silvana Giudici (@SilvanaGiudici) November 13, 2024

She emphasized the details of her resolution: "We prohibit the advertising of gambling in all its platforms, but we do not move forward in matters that may limit or damage other rights such as freedom of expression and content on the Internet." “What should be punished is the intermediary, the one who collects money from children and then makes stronger bets,” she explained.

In support of the resolution proposed by Giudici, Roxana Reyes (UCR) stated: “We consider that it manages to summarize the basics of what we have to work on: we have to achieve this tool so that as soon as possible children are protected from a danger such as compulsive gambling."

Congresswoman Emilia Orozco (LLA) supported the resolution proposed by the PRO block -with some dissent-: "We need simplified rules and not more regulations. It is a problem that needs legislation but in a responsible way."

In turn, Congresswoman Mónica Schlotthauer (FIT) indicated: "We support the majority opinion but with some dissenting views." She added that "the problem of gambling addiction is not only related to propaganda but to a symptom of disease."

Scandal in the plenary session

In addition to the arguments of the legislators, there was a strong confrontation between Ferraro and Giudici, with insults and shouting in between. The deputy of the Civic Coalition criticized the fact that the PRO party had presented its own proposal despite its lack of participation in the previous discussions of the commission and that this proposal did not include precise details on the limitations of online gambling advertising.

The exchange of words became louder when, in the middle of the shouting and without microphones enabled, Guidici rebuked Ferraro with an insult: "You are a son of a bitch!", which generated reactions of disapproval among those present. Congresswoman Mónica Frade, who was chairing the plenary, asked Guidici to leave the room.

Ferraro, visibly upset, got up from his seat to confront Guidici, accusing her of lobbying for Codere and businessman Daniel Angelici.

It is worth mentioning that the Spanish company is an official sponsor of the River Plate club, while the former president of Boca is a well-known bingo licensee in the province of Buenos Aires and a militant of the UCR, where he was a partner of Enrique Nosiglia, Giudici's original political godfather.