Lawmakers held committee meetings to advance the discussion of two similar projects. The intention is to vote in the next session and even implement it before the end of the year.
Argentina.- The Chamber of Deputies of San Juan is making progress in establishing a law to regulate online gambling and prevent minors from accessing virtual casino platforms. Moreover, the legislative ruling party aims to enact the law in the next session, scheduled for next Thursday.
In this regard, yesterday, November 19, there was a joint meeting of two committees, Health and Legislation and Constitutional Affairs, to discuss two projects presented on this matter: one from the ruling party and another by Franco Aranda from the Renewal Front. The president of the Social Action Fund (CAS), Juan Pablo Medina, was invited to clarify doubts about the regulations, as this entity will be the controlling body. After the debate, there was consensus among different blocks to move forward, so tomorrow, Thursday, November 21, there will be another meeting where it is not ruled out that there might be a committee dispatch clearing everything for the next ordinary session.
Both projects were presented almost simultaneously in the Deputies. The first was by Aranda, dated July 24; while the one from the ruling party, a message from the Executive signed by the governor, Marcelo Orrego, was presented the following day. Both are practically named the same: the first "Regulation of online gambling" and the one from the ruling party "Regulation of online gambling in the province of San Juan."
As their names indicate, neither aims to prohibit the activity, but to control it. What they do have in common is that there should be a law controlling online betting and that all unregistered and illegal platforms are criminally pursued. Moreover, a key point is that both target gambling addiction and prevent minors from accessing online gambling.
The one who confirmed that the ruling party's goal is for the law to be approved in the next session was the deputy Juan de la Cruz Córdoba, who also chairs the Legislation and Constitutional Affairs committee. This body also includes deputies from other political sectors, such as Aranda, from the Renewal Front; Luis Rueda, from the bloquismo, and Fernando Patinella, from Liberty Advances. All three agreed to move forward so that there might be a committee dispatch and did not rule out that the project could be treated next Thursday. These statements are significant, as they come from deputies who are not from the ruling party but who have been supporting with their votes, necessary for a legislative majority to sanction projects.
See also: The CAS of San Juan requested that the project to regulate online gambling in the province be advanced
Regarding the differences between the projects, from the ruling party and Aranda, the latter explained that “they are basically similar or only differ in legislative technique”, that is, in how the text of the project is presented. However, they do have a key point that must be defined in committee. Aranda's text stipulates that, for a player to start betting, they must register on the enabled virtual platforms providing information about their name and document, but, in addition, it also requires the use of a “secure data biometric authentication method”. This means that access must be made with fingerprints, facial scans, or voice recognition. The project from the ruling party does not establish this requirement textually in the norm, but, as official sources indicated, it is planned in the regulation of the law, a procedure that will be in charge of the Social Action Fund. Whether this step will be included in the text or not will come out of the agreement between the deputies.
