Argentina is preparing sweeping criminal legislation that will prosecute technology providers, payment processors, and internet service providers supplying infrastructure to unlicensed gambling platforms, with sentences reaching four years imprisonment. The legislative package, submitted to Congress in May, represents a significant escalation in the government’s enforcement strategy against the country’s underground betting market.

Shifting from Operators to Infrastructure

The proposal marks a notable policy pivot for President Javier Milei’s administration. Rather than pursuing individual offshore operators, the new framework targets the domestic supply chain keeping illegal platforms operational. A proposed addition to Argentina’s criminal code, Article 301, will allow prosecutors to charge anyone providing material support, equipment, software, or financial services to unauthorized betting businesses.

Actual platform operators face even stiffer penalties: up to six years in prison, with enhanced sentences if minors access the sites. By framing gambling addiction as a national public health emergency, the executive branch is seeking to establish a centralized enforcement apparatus spanning banking, telecommunications, and securities regulators.

Advertising and Sponsorship Restrictions

The four-bill package extends well beyond criminal prosecution. If enacted, it will impose a total blackout on gambling advertisements across television, radio, public spaces, and digital platforms. The scope is ambitious: sports clubs, athletes, and venues face bans on betting sponsorships entirely. Influencers, journalists, and content creators are explicitly prohibited from promoting gambling products, whilst common acquisition tactics like welcome bonuses become illegal.

Frankly, this represents a seismic shift for Argentina’s sports and entertainment sectors, which have come to depend substantially on betting industry revenue.

Expanded Consumer Restrictions and Biometric Controls

The legislation creates multiple categories of prohibited users beyond age restrictions. Employees of gambling firms, athletes, coaches, referees, and sports officials will be barred from placing bets. Individuals listed on Argentina’s child support debtors register face exclusion from gambling entirely.

To tighten the licensed operator market, the government mandates biometric identity verification before any bet placement. Biological data will confirm legal age.

A Broader Public Health Framework

Lawmakers steering the legislation note that whilst protecting minors provided initial political momentum, the final draft addresses gambling as a systemic societal issue. The national drug policy secretariat will assume responsibility for long-term treatment and prevention, integrating gambling addiction management within Argentina’s existing substance abuse framework alongside the Ministry of Health.