Proposal for Mandatory Entry Fees on Betting Platforms in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires provincial legislator Roberto Vázquez has submitted a bill that would require entry fees for online betting platforms and physical betting venues. The proposal sets the fee for online platforms at ten times the lowest bet in the relevant game category, while physical venues would be required to charge an entry fee. According to local news site 0221, Vázquez's proposal is aimed mainly at creating a financial barrier before gambling begins, rather than at generating revenue.

The revenue collected would be transferred to the proposed Provincial Fund for the Prevention, Support and Treatment of Gambling Addiction. The fund would support prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research and education activities, and would give priority to the harms affecting children and young people in particular. The proposal also aims to set limits on the time, frequency and amounts spent on digital platforms. Operators would be required to issue warnings showing the time elapsed and money deposited, and to offer simple tools that let customers set tighter limits for themselves and request help.

The proposal also includes strict identity verification to prevent people under 18 from betting, making self-exclusion mandatory, and restricting promotional bonuses. The province would also maintain an up-to-date register of the platforms, venues and operators it covers, including their licenses and the authorized methods for collecting the fee.

The regulation comes at a time when different approaches to betting regulation are being debated in the provincial legislature. On October 28, Vázquez asked in a statement that Carlos Bianco meet with the Unión por la Patria bloc and that Governor Axel Kicillof clarify his position. Vázquez said legislators should avoid positions that conflict with the stance of the provincial government.

The proposal follows calls from Gonzalo Atanasof, head of IPLyC, the provincial regulator, for tougher steps against illegal online betting. Speaking before a provincial Chamber of Deputies committee, Atanasof distinguished between unauthorized platforms and licensed operators, and said licensed operators should comply with identity verification requirements designed to prevent access by minors. A separate initiative from provincial senator Federico Fagioli goes further, proposing to ban online sports betting and casino games and to remove the existing licensing framework. Fagioli's bill, known as the "Ley Lula", is currently on the agenda.