Bullrich Pledges Argentine Senate Debate on Online Betting Ad Ban Bill

^{The Palacio del Congreso in Buenos Aires. The Senate has a half-approved online betting bill awaiting debate. (Photo: Felipe Restrepo Acosta / Wikimedia Commons)}

Argentine senator Patricia Bullrich, who leads the ruling La Libertad Avanza bloc in the Senate, has said the chamber will debate a bill to prevent gambling harm among children and regulate online betting “in the coming weeks”. She announced the move on 6 November on X.

“Child gambling addiction is not a game,” Bullrich wrote. “We are going to deal with this law in the Senate in the coming weeks. Limits must be set.” Local reports describe the move as taken on her own initiative, without a prior agreement with the government.

A Bill Close to Lapsing

The text that is drawing the pressure received half-sanction in the Chamber of Deputies in late 2024 and has been stalled in the Senate ever since. It is close to losing its parliamentary status, and Argentina’s ordinary legislative sessions end on 30 November, according to TN.

A second bill, sent to Congress by President Javier Milei in May 2026, has also not moved forward. The Senate bills sit with three committees: Public Health, General Legislation, and Justice and Penal Affairs. Bullrich would need to push for a joint committee meeting to get the debate going.

The committees are chaired by libertarian senators Ivanna Arrascaeta, Nadia Márquez and Gonzalo Guzmán Coraita. Senator Agustín Coto of Tierra del Fuego backed Bullrich’s push, calling child gambling addiction one of the most destructive forms of the problem and saying a brake must be put on it.

Mónica Frade, the Coalición Cívica deputy who wrote the bill, welcomed the announcement but warned that further delay could waste the work already done. “It is mental health versus tax collection,” she said. “I choose the first.”

What the Bill Would Do

According to La Nación’s summary, the half-approved text would ban gambling advertising on television, radio, social networks, billboards, podcasts and cultural events, including indirect promotion through influencers and sports clothing. It would also remove welcome bonuses and bar betting companies from sponsoring teams, athletes, stadiums and events.

Platforms would have to verify the identity and age of users biometrically through the national registry, Renaper, at sign-up and at each login. The bill creates a national self-exclusion register, and restricts payment to debit cards and e-wallets with daily limits, with credit cards banned.

Operating bets without authorisation would carry prison terms of three to eight years, with aggravating factors where minors are involved. The text also sets licence requirements and fines, and funds prevention campaigns and school education on betting.

Church Pressure and Political Reaction

The announcement followed a campaign by the Argentine bishops’ conference, whose president, Marcelo Colombo, urged senators not to let the half-approved bill die. The Church also launched a Change.org petition, and the push has coincided with Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the country.

Not everyone in Bullrich’s bloc agrees on the text. A libertarian senator told La Nación there was nothing agreed in advance, and that the disagreement is over the wording and legislative approach rather than the aim.

Argentina has been moving towards tighter online rules for some time, including when it was considering a federal ban on online gambling advertising.

Across the region, Brazil’s market has also been reshaped by regulation, with demand falling back to 2022 levels after its ban.