Lawmaker Urges Argentine Senate to Fast-Track Gambling Reform Bill

A lawmaker has urged the Argentine Senate to approve a gambling reform bill and clamp down on social media influencers who promote gambling platforms on social media.

The media outlet Parlamentario reported that Maximiliano Ferraro, the head of the Civic Coalition: Affirmation for an Equal Republic (CC-ARI) party, asked the Senate to move forward with a draft law designed to prevent gambling addiction and curb online betting.

Ferraro was referring to a bill that passed the lower house on November 27 last year, winning cross-party support.

Ferraro Takes Aim at Pro-Gambling Influencers, “What They Are Doing Isn’t Right”

One hundred and forty lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, with only 36 voting against and 59 abstaining. The bill proposes the following:

• A total ban on online gambling advertising
• Biometric verification for gambling platform access to prevent under-18s from gaining access
• An approval system for online gambling operators
• Payment method regulations
• Criminal punishment for non-compliant platforms
• Various gambling-related reforms to the criminal code

However, the bill appears to be making slow progress through the Senate, leaving some lawmakers frustrated.

In an X post, Ferraro wrote: “No more! The Chamber of Deputies has already taken the first step. Now it’s the Senate’s turn. It’s urgent that they step up to the challenge.”

And Ferraro continued: “We want a law that prevents gambling addiction and prohibits online gambling advertising. Because this is not a game. We are talking about the health and lives of scores of youngsters and many other people.”

The CC-ARI leader called out the model and TV personality Wanda Nara and the broadcaster Marcelo Tinelli, both of whom he accused of promoting gambling platforms on their social media pages.

“What Wanda and Tinelli are doing isn’t right,” Ferraro wrote. In an accompanying video, he added: “The problem isn’t just the legality or otherwise of the platforms [Nara and Tinelli] have promoted. The problem is the message they’re sending. They are selling empty promises about making easy money.”

Prosecutors Take Action

Earlier this month, the Buenos Aires Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered Nara and other influencers to take part in a gambling addiction awareness video.

The upper house’s Health & General Legislation and Justice & Criminal Affairs must first approve the bill before the Senate can vote on it.

A growing chorus of lawmakers has urged the Senate to fast-track the deal. They have been spearheaded by the MP Mónica Frade, one of the bill’s key sponsors.

In May, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Gambling ordered the social media star Cinthia Fernández to appear at a committee hearing. She was accused of promoting illegal betting sites on Instagram.