“Register and we’ll give you 10 thousand pesos to bet. Plus, we give you a 150 percent bonus on your first deposit.” The promotion appears when you open the website one of the leading sports betting websites laws of the country, which is also the official sponsor of the Argentine teams. Against that company and for that reason, the first class action lawsuit of a consumer association.
The United Consumers Union (UCU) filed a lawsuit in the Tax Administrative Litigation Court No. 25, headed by Carlos Tambussi, for the Betwarrior brand to be stop doing these types of promotions which, he argued, induce gambling. “The Civil Code prohibits advertising from being harmful to health and this clearly is,” he told Clarion Adrián Bengolea, head of UCU.
According to the complaint, presented by lawyer Leonardo de Almeida, it speaks of “illicit advertising in the terms of article 248 et seq. of the Procedural Code for Justice in Consumer Relations” and requests that “the cessation be ordered, throughout the entire territory of the Argentine Republic, definitively, of the defendants’ advertisements that communicate monetary bonusespromotions and all kinds of incentives to players who register on their sports betting or gambling platform or application.”
Bengolea clarified that “general advertising of online betting It is not prohibited in Argentina (N. de la R: now there are some initiatives in Congress to advance in that direction), and what is not prohibited is allowed. But this type of promotion through which money is given away so that people bet already brings the issue to the fore. other level and can encourage problem gambling.”
At the same time, the lawsuit demands that the defendants be “ordered to pay punitive damage a sum equivalent to the legal maximum provided for by Law 27,701, thus adequately assessing the malicious and illegitimate conduct of the defendants that affects and will affect in the future if they are not stopped in their actions, a large number of consumers.
Finally, as an accessory measure, it requests “that the defendants be ordered to finance a rectification, corrective and massive campaign to raise awareness about the risks and consequences of compulsive gambling, especially aimed at young and vulnerable audiences. This campaign must be carried out in the same media and platforms where the questioned bonds are advertised.” There are more and more examples of families destroyed by this problem.
“Betwarrior – says the lawsuit – presents itself as ‘the leading sports betting and online casino platform in Argentina’ and is a sponsor of the Argentine national teams of football and hockey, as well as the Argentine Tennis Association and the Argentina Open tournaments of 2023 and 2024. The head of UCU explained: “The first lawsuit was against that brand but we are already preparing presentations against others.”
“Society faces a growing risk”
Lawyer De Almeida stated in his writing: “Currently, it is undeniable that society faces a increasing risk due to the proliferation of online gambling. Since the beginning of the pandemic, and with the administrative authorizations granted by various jurisdictions, we have witnessed the rapid expansion of companies dedicated to offering users the opportunity to participate in online betting and gaming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
He also cited a scientific article published in Spain, entitled “Exposure of young people and adolescents to gambling advertising: a systematic review”, in the journal “Anales de Psicología”. According to this study – states the UCU representative -, “the promotional bonuses granted to new players in gambling advertising are perceived as attractive and effective to encourage participation in games of chance, especially among those who are starting to play. “At the same time, we highlight the work that these bonuses can influence the gaming behavior of participants, especially in terms of increasing participation and betting.”
Then quote several examples of countries that decided to limit online betting advertising: United Kingdom, Finland, Italy, Australia, Belgium, United States, Canada and Spain. “In Italy, since 2018, all gambling advertising has been banned. Aware of the enormous problem that advertising has in this area, this country cut corners. In Spain, Law 13/2022 called the General Law of Audiovisual Communication is forceful, prohibiting in its article 13.1 promotions to attract new clients under any conditions,” said De Almeida.
The judicial brief added: “Unfortunately, due to the laziness of the legislators of our country, there is no regulatory regulation of national gambling advertising as exists in other countries of the world.” Concern is growing and recently there was an initiative by legislators from the Civic Coalition to regulate the use of virtual wallets linked to online gambling.
And regarding the central point of the demand, he considered that “acquisition bonuses are an effective – and dangerous – strategy to attract new users who would otherwise they might not have entered in the world of online gaming. By offering attractive financial incentives and lowering barriers to entry, these promotions motivate new users to register and make an initial deposit, which increases the consumer base of gambling companies and therefore also increases the number of people exposed to a system that can lead to serious gambling addiction.”
Sources close to the defendant company spoke with Clarion within the framework of a business that is booming in the country. They considered that “most people have a playful relationship with online betting, not problematic. Those who have a gambling addiction are very few. And on legal betting sites there are many tools to combat gamblingfrom buttons that take you out of the platform, deposit limits and even definitive self-exclusion.
