This Thursday, the Legislature of the city of Buenos Aires will debate two bills to regulate the online gambling industry. One would set a regulatory framework that would include problem gambling provisions, while the other would establish a new online gambling law.

A condition from the Coalición Cívica – which is part of the ruling party – proposes the ban of credit cards in the online gambling sector. Players would only be allowed to bet with debit cards to help prevent the same player from compulsively gambling with different cards.

In addition, they will require a specific section to monitor that minors and beneficiaries of social plans cannot access the platform. Following the current legislation, “the materialization of betting needs to happen in the city of Buenos Aires,” so the government will need to come up with a monitoring mechanism to exclude players who reside in other Argentinian provinces.

The opposition will also seek a complete ban on advertising, and the government will also analyze whether sponsorships from betting operators can also be prohibited under this law.

The Legislature aims to approve an amendment to the current online gambling regulation, which came into force in February 2020, to allow licensed land-based casino operators to participate in the process.

Furthermore, the regulation would include a “clean record” provision, aiming to prevent “prosecuted people or in trial for crimes such as human, drugs or guns trafficking and money laundering” from applying for a license.

The online gambling law in the capital city establishes that operators don’t pay certain fees, but must contribute a percentage of the bets (between 10% and 20% of each bet), and 6% of the gross income. Licenses will be valid for five years, while the Ministry of Finance of the city will be in control of the industry.