Jorge Macri announced new measures to combat gambling among minors

The head of government Jorge Macri announced this Wednesday a series of measures to combat online gambling among minors in the City of Buenos Aires. There are 14 points aimed at controlling a problem that is constantly growing. “Child gambling addiction is a serious concern, we are facing a serious problem and we have to deal with it in this way,” he said.

Among the points announced are: closure of online site registration And beThey will review those already grantedHE will audit the present offerHE they blocked sites and they were sent document letters to 9 influencer to encourage activity.

“We know that we do not have all the answers to face this, but we have all agreed on something that is like the first step of this discussion: online betting exists, in many cases in a legal system, in others in a framework illegal,” explained Jorge Macri at the headquarters of the Buenos Aires government, located at 3160 Uspallata Street, in the Parque de los Patricios neighborhood.

After a series of meetings with specialists in gambling and techno-addiction about the impact of online games and betting, especially on adolescents, the City announced measures on four axes: regulation of online betting, actions and measures in education, health and challenges for the future.

For Jorge Macri, “What we are not going to negotiate is pooling the bet and the children. With children we are not going to accept that their lack of maturity, their inexperience, and permeability can be used to use them as a means of business.”

“This is causing serious consequences. Because children do not have to gamble, because they are still open-minded, they have not matured. They are on the screen and often in gambling sites, but from there they are recruited to gamble. They are not really aware of the real consequences that this betting brings, both economic and health-related,” the head of the Buenos Aires government stressed.

In a more national vision, “advertising in clubs, in the national media, must be regulated and regulated by Congress, where there are already many projects and our teams have gone to have meetings in the different commissions that are working on the issue with a lot of commitment,” the official explained.

What are the measures announced by the City to combat online betting among minors?

Regulation of online betting

• As of this Monday, June 24, registration for new licenses was closed and all agreements with potential operators were suspended. There is no longer any possibility of anyone joining.
• In the City, unlike other jurisdictions, where there are limits on the number of operators, licenses were free. Today there are 11 operators with active and regulated licenses.
• Together with the Lottery of the City of Buenos Aires (LOTBA), it is being audited more rigorously so that the recreational offer includes parameters related to responsible gaming.
• Through the Association of State Lotteries (ALEA), agreements were signed with META, NIC.AR ENACOM, Mercado Libre and Rapipago to eliminate and block content that promotes illegal gambling.
• 715 social media profiles and advertisements have already been blocked, 12 websites on .AR domains have been blocked, 9 publications have been requested to be removed from Mercado Libre and 9 document letters have been sent to influencers.

Actions and measures in education

• Access to 772 URLs of legal and illegal pages was blocked from the WIFI network of all public schools in the City.
• The blocking of these betting sites was extended to the entire BA WIFI network, which is the City’s free Wi-Fi that covers and has reach in all public spaces.
• Mass educational workshops are being held for teenagers and their families.
• The Prevention Network in Clubs will be announced in the coming days, focusing on adolescent socialization groups.

Actions and measures in health

• A specialized group device will be opened at the Álvarez Hospital to care for minors with a possible diagnosis of gambling, and another to care for families.

Challenges for the future

• The legislature is working with 17 projects presented by deputies from different blocks to generate a single law that includes all the necessary measures.
• The Attorney General’s Office, after a meeting with Jorge Macri, decided that a Prosecutor’s Office will specialize in the issue of illegal gambling.
• There is also an agreement with the cybercrime area of ​​the City Police to control the networks.