Countdown to November: Argentina’s Bishops Write to Urge the Senate to Save a Bill

File photo: Argentina’s National Congress at sunset, viewed from Palacio Barolo on 11 September 2012. Context for the federal Senate debate, not the 2026 events reported here. Photo: Miguel César / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Display cropped to fit. Original photo and credit. License.

Argentine media coverage of the Church’s letter to the Senate. Image credit: La Argentina Diario

An Argentine bill intended to protect young people from online gambling is sitting in a Senate drawer, waiting to expire. The Catholic Church has decided not to wait any longer.

The Argentine Bishops’ Conference’s Social Pastoral Commission (CEPAS) has written to Vice President and Senate President Victoria Villarruel and all senators, urging the Senate to “urgently” resume consideration of the bill to prevent and address gambling addiction. Journalist Mariano Obarrio first disclosed the matter on October 14, and news agency Noticias Argentinas and La Argentina Diario subsequently confirmed the letter’s existence.

The Church’s anxiety stems from a procedural issue. The bill has already received “half approval” (media sanción) in the Chamber of Deputies, meaning it has passed one chamber. Under Argentina’s rules, if the other chamber does not act within the prescribed legislative period, the bill loses its “parliamentary status” and the process must start again. Reports place that deadline in November, but the exact date could not be verified for this article.

The bill’s provisions are not particularly radical: restrict online gambling advertising, strengthen age verification and keep minors off the platforms. Yet it has still not secured a place on the Senate’s agenda.

Meanwhile, Buenos Aires Province, where the capital is located, is fighting its own battle. Its online gambling bill, D-3634, failed to make it into the October 20 session of the Chamber of Deputies. The day before, the provincial Chamber of Deputies’ gambling committee had invited the head of the provincial lottery authority to attend. According to Argentine legislative news outlet Appdate Legislativo, the official suggested discussing the role of virtual wallets in betting payments.

The federal bill remains unresolved and the provincial bill is going nowhere, while pressure is concentrating on payments and advertising. If the Senate allows the bill to expire, the existing operating landscape will not change in the short term. But the Church’s public intervention means that “children are gambling” is no longer a subject confined to the industry.

Sources

• Mariano Obarrio: https://x.com/marianoobarrio/status/2110159118631878808
• La Argentina Diario: https://x.com/LaArgentinaDiar/status/2111080908455285021
• Noticias Argentinas: https://x.com/NAagencia/status/2110861077160313159
• Appdate Legislativo: https://x.com/AppdateLegis/status/2112234402323280162
• Note: The original letter was not obtained, and the exact date on which the bill expires has not been verified.