Buenos Aires considers time limits and biometrics in online gambling
Mayra Mendoza, a deputy from the Province of Buenos Aires, introduced a bill in the provincial Legislature to impose usage restrictions and biometric control mechanisms on authorized online gambling platforms. The proposal applies to gaming licenses operating legally under the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos and aims to combat cyber-gambling addiction, especially among adolescents and young adults. Currently, seven companies hold licenses in the Buenos Aires territory.
Among its central points, the initiative obliges platforms to incorporate an automatic session logout after 60 continuous minutes of play, with a block of at least one hour before allowing a new login. The regulation also sets a maximum of three logins per user within a 24-hour period, after which the platform will prevent access until the next day and display a message about responsible gambling. Operators must also guarantee the permanent display of elapsed browsing time and the amount wagered, along with alerts that interrupt activity in the face of patterns suggesting compulsive behavior.
In the text's rationale, Mendoza argued that cyber-gambling addiction has become a complex problem affecting all age groups and manifesting with particular aggression in adolescents and young adults, emphasizing that digital immediacy increases the risk compared to land-based gambling. Another key aspect is the incorporation of a biometric validation system using real-time facial recognition, which will be mandatory for logging in, making deposits or withdrawals, and placing bets exceeding the minimum amount determined by regulation. The legislator compared the mechanism to the requirement of presenting identification in the physical world and stated that identity must be verified in the virtual environment with the same rigor, in order to prevent minors from using third-party identities.
The project establishes a sanctioning regime ranging from fines and temporary suspensions to the definitive revocation of the license granted by the institute in case of non-compliance. If approved, the provincial Executive Power would have a period of up to 90 days for companies to adjust their computer systems to the new technical requirements, and the text contemplates the creation of a permanent working and monitoring committee in the Chamber of Deputies to monitor the law's impact and evaluate future technological updates.
The presentation joins other initiatives promoted in the Buenos Aires Legislature regarding gambling advertising and the prevention of problem gambling in minors. These include Deputy Alejandra Lorden's project, which proposes restricting the advertising of gambling, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco near educational, sports, and health establishments, in addition to creating a provincial fund for child and adolescent mental health, and that of Fabián Luayza and Viviana Romano, which seeks to modify Provincial Gaming Law 15.079 to reinforce the protection of children and adolescents against advertising content on social media, digital platforms, and streaming services.
All these proposals, including Mendoza's, will be debated within the scope of the Gambling, Lottery, and Problem Gambling Prevention Committee of the Buenos Aires Chamber of Deputies, created this year to comprehensively analyze the various initiatives on activity regulation, advertising, and prevention policies aimed at minors. It is estimated that there are about twenty projects under review, fifteen of which are bills from different political blocs.
Tags: Mayra Mendoza, Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos, biometric validation, cyber gambling addiction