Councilwoman Cecilia Roffé introduced an ordinance project aimed at eliminating advertising for virtual betting and gambling in areas close to educational institutions.
Argentina.- In the city of San Francisco, in Córdoba, an ordinance project was introduced that aims to prohibit advertising for virtual betting and gambling in areas close to educational institutions. The initiative was presented by Councilwoman Cecilia Roffé and aims to protect the most vulnerable sectors, with a special focus on adolescents.
The project aims to prohibit any type of gambling advertising within a 500-meter radius around schools. The restriction will apply to all types of support, such as posters, billboards, screens, or any medium that promotes participation in online betting, as reported by the local media Radio Estación.
The reasons for the initiative underline the concern about the impact of gambling addiction among young people. Studies from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Argentine Pediatric Association are cited, which warn about the growing problem of addiction to video games and online gambling, a situation that worsened during the pandemic. The project will be discussed on Thursday, September 26, at the Honorable City Council.
See also: Legislators from Córdoba propose the creation of a program to address problematic gambling
On the other hand, the mayor of the town of La Calera, Fernando Rambaldi, announced that he will move towards the prohibition of online betting in that municipality. Thus, despite the modifications that will be made to the provincial law, a municipal ordinance will prohibit the inhabitants of that locality from accessing sites regulated by law.
«The Municipality of La Calera, using its autonomy, decides to adopt preventive measures to protect the community from the harmful effects of online gambling», indicates the text of the decree.
«We are going to block the IP addresses. We work with the service providers of the city throughout our jurisdiction and especially in public municipal buildings. We want to extend it to the Wi-Fi and internet signals of schools and buildings. It is the municipality that regulates the local internet providers. We will make the corresponding requests», said the mayor in dialogue with the local media La Voz.
On Wednesday, September 18, the Legislature of Córdoba approved, by a single vote, the modification of Law 10.793, enacted in 2021, which regulates gambling in the province. In a close vote, the provincial ruling party achieved the continuity of the activity, applying changes to the norm, and thus opposed the proposal that proposed the repeal of the law.
In order for the law to remain in force, from the ruling party, through legislator María Acevedo, a series of changes to the norm were promoted, specifically in Articles 8, 14, and 20, in addition to incorporating the Biometric Data Registry within the Registry of Players to prevent access by minors, as a key point of the reform.
