For the first time, the government of Javier Milei has formally legislated on gambling. On the afternoon of 22 May, cabinet chief Manuel Adorni announced via his account on X that four bills had been sent to Congress that day: a gambling addiction law, a revised version of the Large Investment Incentives Regime known as Super RIGI, a lobbying-disclosure law, and the long-delayed front-of-pack food-labelling measure. President Milei reposted the announcement within the hour.
The gambling bill, drafted by the Secretariat of Comprehensive Policies on Drugs of the Nation (Sedronar) in coordination with the Ministry of Health, establishes the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction as a national public-health policy. It expressly prohibits minors from online gambling and requires identity verification on all licensed platforms.
The text reaches the criminal code. Operating betting-capture systems without authorisation would carry prison sentences of three to six years, with an aggravating factor if the operator targets minors.
A new Article 301 would impose two to four years on any person who supplies services, equipment or material to an unauthorised operator, with additional time for those who advertise on its behalf. The government has presented these as the first criminal offences in Argentine federal law expressly directed at the online-gambling sector.
The bill assigns roles across several federal agencies. The National Communications Agency (ENACOM) would have power to block content from unauthorised operators; the Central Bank (BCRA) would prohibit transfers from minors’ accounts to gambling-operator accounts; the National Securities Commission (CNV) would gain sanctioning powers over virtual-asset service providers supporting unauthorised operators; the country’s domain registrar, NIC Argentina, would suspend domains used by unauthorised sites; and Sedronar would design and fund treatment programmes.
The advertising rules are comprehensive. Promotional material for gambling would be banned across social media, broadcast television, radio, the open internet, mobile applications and the public way, and could not be aimed at or feature minors. Advertising would also be prohibited from associating gambling with success, social status or personal fortune.
An opposition gambling bill received partial approval in the Chamber of Deputies last year but was rejected by Milei’s La Libertad Avanza ruling bloc on the grounds that it amounted to a blanket ban on legitimate commerce. The version submitted on 22 May is significantly narrower, centred on the protection of minors, identity verification and criminal sanctions for unauthorised operators.
The post Argentina’s Milei sends gambling bill to Congress appeared first on G3 Newswire.
For the first time, the government of Javier Milei has formally legislated on gambling. On the afternoon of 22 May, cabinet chief Manuel Adorni announced via his account on X that four bills had been sent to Congress that day: a gambling addiction law, a revised version of the Large Investment Incentives Regime known as…
The post Argentina’s Milei sends gambling bill to Congress appeared first on G3 Newswire.