One of the discussion points where consensus is not reached is the advertising of betting houses.
Argentina.- Expectations are growing in the gaming sector ahead of the imminent treatment of the bill aimed at preventing gambling addiction, regulating online gambling and betting, and advertising restrictions. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Martín Menem, has called legislators for a session this Wednesday, November 27 at 12 noon, following a request from deputy Mónica Frade (Civic Coalition).
The session is driven by the Civic Coalition, Federal Encounter, and Radicals Forever, and seeks to address the projects that received opinions after five opposition blocks in the Chamber agreed to unify several initiatives against the industry, to create a joint project. For now, the proposal has been approved by the committees on Addiction Prevention and Narcotics Control; Social Action and Public Health; Communications and Informatics; Criminal Legislation; and Families, Childhood, and Youth.
However, there are still intense discussions that could complicate the progress of the project, as there are also no guarantees of a quorum. But, once the conflict over the number of quorum is overcome, if the session progresses, a strong debate is expected regarding the article referring to the restrictions on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of online gambling.
The majority opinion is based on a project by Maximiliano Ferraro from the Civic Coalition, and other initiatives from Union for the Homeland (UxP), Federal Encounter, and the radicals of "Democracy Forever", while Freedom Advances, the PRO, and the UCR presented a minority opinion based on a project by Silvana Giudici.
The differentiating element between one opinion and another in this case is in Article 8, which appears in the project endorsed by the majority, referring to the prohibition of advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of gambling, sports betting forecasts, and online betting.
This includes platforms and social networks through the Internet, information and communication technologies, audiovisual communication, outdoor advertising, signage in public roads or in private spaces for public use, graphic dissemination media, radio, television, product placement, podcasts, or any other current or future communication medium.
The project stipulates that welcome bonuses for online gambling and betting are prohibited, as well as the sponsorship of sports teams or individual athletes, using their brand or commercial name to identify a sports facility, stadiums, sports academies, recreational centers, public spaces, training centers, the promotion of sports forecasts, and the placement of fixed or digital signage in playing fields and stadiums. Also, their dissemination in artistic or musical festivals and cultural events in general.
Also prohibited is non-traditional advertising (PNT) of gambling, sports betting forecasts, and online betting - defined in the Law of Audiovisual Communication Services No. 26.552 -; indirect or hidden advertising where gambling, sports betting forecasts, and online betting are mentioned through influencers, infomercial programs, and/or the paid or unpaid publication of testimonials from athletes, famous personalities, public figures, or fictional characters that mention them.
In its Article 10, this opinion establishes biometric verification of identity and age. Operators/licensees of online betting games must have on their sites, applications, or web pages, mechanisms, tools, and filters that reliably guarantee the impossibility of access by minors. To this end, they must use Digital Identity Systems (SID) connected to the database of the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER) to validate identity remotely, through facial recognition.
The marketing and/or distribution and/or sale of online gambling and betting must comply with the requirements of responsible gaming. For example, providing the betting user with accurate, complete, and truthful information regarding the type of online game, rules, probability of winning prizes, and other information related to the operation of the game.
It must have a visible indication of the assistance tool for people with gambling addiction provided by the Enforcement Authority. It must also have mechanisms for identifying and prohibiting online gambling to persons registered in the ReNA. A system of registration and login must also be established to prevent access by children and adolescents, in accordance with this standard.
See also: A survey in secondary schools reveals that 1 in 4 young people from the City of Buenos Aires made an online bet at least once
Operators/licensees of online gambling and betting sites must include the following warning legends in the access and use interfaces. On the start screen, occupying no less than 50 percent of the entire screen: "Participation of minors is prohibited."
Furthermore, there is an article dedicated to special prohibitions. It prohibits sites and/or platforms for online gambling and betting from implementing loyalty actions or offering online games in the form of binary options and in the form of microtransactions or loot games or those that include the following gamification strategies.
Shareholders, owners, participants, or holders of the game operator, its executive staff, and employees directly involved in the development of gambling and betting may not be bettors on sites or platforms for online gambling and betting.
Nor may athletes, coaches, or other direct participants in the event or sports activity on which the bet is made. Judges or referees who exercise their functions in the event or sports activity on which the bet is made, as well as persons who resolve appeals against their decisions.
Those registered in the National Self-Exclusion Regime (ReNA) and those registered in provincial self-exclusion regimes and from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are also prohibited.
In its Article 21, the opinion proposes the blocking of unauthorized platforms. In the event of complaints processed by the Enforcement Authority or other natural or legal persons, the competent court may order in summary proceedings the blocking of websites where unauthorized online gambling offers are made, that do not comply with the domain whose denomination is "bet.ar" and/or that which replaces it; or the preventive suspension of authorized online gambling platforms that fail to comply with provisions contained in this law.
Regarding the regulation of payment methods, it establishes debit cards, subject to a daily limit equivalent to the withdrawal limit set by the bank or financial entity for ATMs; electronic/virtual wallets only with money in account and subject to a daily limit equivalent to the withdrawal limit set by the bank or financial entity for ATMs. They may not be used with the credit function: ANSeS accounts; credit cards.
As for the sanctioning regime, non-compliance with the provisions or transgressions of the prohibitions provided in this law will result in the application of a fine equivalent to the unit of purchasing power (UVA) at the time of the sanction, between 500 and one hundred thousand units of purchasing power.
"Those who exploit, manage, operate or in any way organize or administer, by themselves or through third parties, any modality or system of capturing gambling and betting, without having the competent jurisdictional authorization, and those who provide their biometric data, documents, bank data and/or any information required by the website to participate in betting", stipulates the text.
Finally, it indicates that when these infractions are directed at minors under 18 years of age; the penalty will be increased by one third of the minimum and maximum, even if there is an authorizing or enabling license.
The deputy Silvana Giudici (PRO) referred to the minority opinion they presented with the support of the UCR and LLA, considering that "the other opinion is too regulatory and extensive, which complicates evaluating the constitutionality of the norm".
In that sense, she emphasized the details of "her simplified opinion": "We prohibit the advertising of gambling on all its platforms, but we do not advance on issues that may limit or harm other rights such as freedom of expression and content on the internet", she said, and added: "What must be penalized is the intermediary, that one who collects the money from the kids and then makes stronger bets".
In a letter dated November 14, addressed to the leaders of the majority blocks of the Chamber of Deputies, from the Association of State Lotteries of Argentina (ALEA) explained that the project is "manifestly unconstitutional to the extent that it promotes an undue encroachment by the Honorable Congress of the Nation over competencies that from the very dawn of the republic have been considered as not delegated to the provinces of the Nation", the letter states.
For ALEA authorities, evidence in different countries has shown that prohibiting advertising does not decrease illegal gambling. "On the contrary, this restriction can lead to an increase in access to unauthorized platforms, as reducing the visibility of legal and regulated operators, users can access sites that operate outside the legal framework. This not only affects the safety of players but also hampers the efforts of regulatory bodies to control the activity", they explained from the association.
Furthermore, they indicated that "the prohibition of advertising limits the possibility of informing about responsible gaming tools, such as self-exclusion programs and help channels".
Moreover, they added that along with the prohibition of sponsorships to sports entities, it will cause a "lethal combination". "Not only will the public be deprived of information about the existence of responsible gaming tools and assistance channels, but it will also defund entities that in their genesis seek social development", they wrote in the letter.
Furthermore, they explained: "A detailed reading of the content of the project shows that the information and evidence presented in a timely manner by ALEA have been disregarded. This generates a very deep concern within ALEA as it warns that the project implies an encroachment on the competencies of ALEA members, while, if approved, it will aggravate the situation it intends to contain".
Furthermore, the authorities made themselves available to work together with the committees on the text of a project that respects the National Constitution and is effective in limiting the access of minors to harmful products.
The Catholic Church sent a public letter to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Martín Menem, in which it calls for urgent treatment of the law on the prevention of gambling addiction. To this end, it requested that it be included in the agenda of a session already scheduled or, alternatively, that a special session be convened to advance its debate in the chamber.
The message from the Church states: "We consider it urgent that this opinion receives prompt treatment in the chamber. As has been pointed out by legislators from various political blocks and representatives of civil society organizations that participated in the informational meetings, we are facing a problem that requires an immediate response".
