Buenos Aires, Jan 12: Lawmakers in Argentina’s Tucumán have introduced a bill aimed at combating illegal online gambling in the province, with a particular focus on protecting minors, according to the proposal.
The initiative was tabled by provincial legislator Claudio Viña amid concerns that minors are accessing online gaming sites through smartphones. The bill frames the issue as one of public interest and child welfare, citing the “best interests of the child” as its guiding principle.
The proposal seeks to create a safer and more responsible digital environment around online gambling, describing illegal online betting as a social risk on digital platforms. It addresses internet regulation, state responsibility and the protection of children.
Under the bill, criteria are set out to define illegal online betting platforms. These include operators that lack proper authorisation from the province, do not have legal representation in Argentina, fail to meet personal data protection standards, or allow or do not prevent access by people under 18 years of age.
“This law seeks to prevent, detect, penalize, and block applications, platforms, and websites of online betting and games of chance which illegitimately operate in the territory of the province of Tucumán in order to assure public order, to eradicate illegal betting, to promote responsible betting, to fight fraud, and to avoid problem behavior,” the proposal says.
The draft legislation grants broad powers to an authority designated by Tucumán’s Executive Branch, enabling it to intervene directly in the digital environment. The authority would be tasked with blocking digital and financial infrastructure linked to illegal gambling and maintaining a registry of authorised platforms.
Its responsibilities would include “requesting the blocking of IP addresses, servers, website hosting services, payment methods, and any other measures deemed appropriate to stop illegal activity, and for this purpose must also maintain a registry of authorized platforms,” according to the text.
The bill also calls for the creation of an official, accessible and free citizen reporting channel to allow the public to report suspected illegal gambling platforms or operations, increasing public participation in enforcement and oversight.
Current age-verification methods used by online betting platforms, such as tick-box self-verification, are criticised in the proposal as “clearly insufficient.” To address this, the bill proposes the use of biometric identity verification as a more effective tool.
“The obligation of biometric verification on online sports betting websites indeed provides a specific tool in order to increase government control, discourage abusive behavior, and help promote a safer cyberspace in Tucumán society,” the proposal says.
The author of the bill said the initiative is not intended solely as a preventive or revenue-generating measure, but rather to establish a clear regulatory framework in response to advancing technology and the growth of online betting, combining child protection norms, enforcement technology and regulatory clarity to tackle illicit online gambling.
