Argentina simplifies warnings in gambling advertising
The Argentine Government has modified the regime regulating the advertising of online gambling and betting, with the aim of simplifying the mandatory warnings that advertisements must include and avoiding the superposition of preventive messages. The measure was made official through Resolution 271/2026 of the Secretariat of Industry, Commerce and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, which updates the technical annex of Resolution 446/2025, the norm that had established the first general national framework for the commercial advertising of online betting platforms.
The new regulation maintains the obligation to include warnings about the risks of compulsive gambling and the prohibition of participation by minors, but introduces a harmonization mechanism between national requirements and provincial regulations. According to the recitals, in recent months several provinces and the City of Buenos Aires implemented their own requirements with legends similar to the national ones, and the coexistence of these messages generated an accumulation of warnings within the same piece that, for the authority, affected the clarity of the message and saturated the visual space to the detriment of consumer understanding. As a result of the modification, when an advertisement complies with the warnings required by a provincial or Buenos Aires regulation, that compliance will also be considered valid to accredit the national obligation, provided that the technical standards set by the secretariat are respected.
The update does not eliminate consumer protection requirements, as all online gambling and betting advertising must continue to include the warning about the harm of compulsive gambling to health along with the age-of-majority legend, in advertisements disseminated via the internet, social networks, print media, public thoroughfares, television, radio, and any other format. The norm retains the criteria of the previous resolution, with warnings located at the bottom of the piece, occupying all available horizontal space and with a height equal to or greater than 10 percent of that of the advertisement, in clearly visible characters, in bold, with horizontal alignment and adequate color contrast.
The resolution also reinforces the criteria for digital formats, where a large part of the sector's advertising is concentrated, with warnings located in the safe zones of the screen so that they are not hidden by platform or social media elements, and with continuous permanence throughout the duration of the advertisement. In influencer and creator content, the warning must be maintained while reference is made to participation methods or access to gaming sites, and on the radio, the legend must be voiced at the end of the piece, clearly, without background music and without a speed greater than that of the rest of the message. Another central change is the possibility for provincial and City of Buenos Aires regulators to formally adhere to the new regime, in order to advance towards greater coordination between jurisdictions and reduce operational burdens for national-scope campaigns, while non-compliance will continue to be subject to the sanctions of the Consumer Defense Law and the commercial loyalty decree.
Tags: Resolution 271/2026, Secretariat of Industry and Commerce, gambling advertising in Argentina, Resolution 446/2025