The legislature of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina has expanded the city’s Codigo Contravencional (Code of Contraventions) to include penalties from new infractions such as allowing underage gambling, SBC News reported May 3.
The proposal to limit gambling to persons over 18 was authored by municipal deputies Paola Michielotto and Sergio Siciliano. The amendment includes online and brick-and-mortar casinos.
They were concerned that advertisements are targeting minors in Buenos Aires during soccer games. They argue that excessive gambling impacts families, causes social issues, encourages sedentary lifestyles and creates mental-health problems.
The proposal has four parts: forbidding underage gambling for licensed businesses, whether they are licensed to offer gambling or not; setting fines; requiring payment service providers to conduct “adult authorizations” for payments to prevent minors from gambling; prohibiting banks and financial institutions from transferring funds from minor accounts to gaming platforms; require that all gambling advertisements include a visible message on the harmful effects of gambling.
More articles will be proposed by the city’s executive to create a legal architecture to deal with minors gambling and to create measures, including intervention, to prevent childhood gambling.
Such rules are overseen by Lotería de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (LOTBA).
