Tucumán stalls on enforcing problem gambling legislation two years after approval
2026-07-23
Source: Global Gaming Insider
Argentina's Tucumán province has yet to enforce Law 9.828, approved in late 2024 to tackle problem gambling, leaving prevention measures such as site blocking and training programs uncoordinated; opposition lawmakers are pressing the governor to activate the rules, citing high youth betting rates.
A provincial law designed to combat gambling addiction in Tucumán, Argentina, remains dormant nearly 24 months after being passed, prompting opposition lawmakers to demand action from Governor Osvaldo Jaldo’s administration.
Law 9.828, approved in November 2024, consolidated eleven separate bills into a single prevention framework. It tasks the ministries of health, education, security and social development with coordinating a province-wide program. The legislation authorises public-awareness campaigns, teacher and family training, support services for those with gambling disorders, and a requirement to block betting sites on school and public-agency networks.
Yet the executive branch has never issued the decree needed to define the responsible bodies, budget, procedures or enforcement mechanisms. Without that decree, measures remain uncoordinated: there is no official protocol for identifying at-risk students in classrooms, referring minors for help, or tracking gambling-related consultations.
Calls for urgent regulation
Legislator Silvia Elías de Pérez has pressed for immediate implementation, citing an unofficial estimate that one in four residents aged 12–17 has interacted with betting platforms. She also noted that UNICEF has separately found roughly one in four Argentine adolescents have placed at least one bet, typically starting around age 13.
The law also applies to the Caja Popular de Ahorros, the provincial body that oversees authorised gambling.
Broader concerns
Fellow legislator Claudio Viña has previously pushed for advertising restrictions and biometric age controls on betting platforms. He warned: “The state, not only in Tucumán but nationally, is not prepared to confront this pandemic.” He added that online gambling enters via phones used for work, study and communication, making the device itself a casino.
Next steps
Tucumán’s legislature plans to convene a panel with outside experts to review pending gambling-related bills, though no timeline has been set for the executive’s regulatory decree.