Three committees of the Chamber of Deputies of Entre Ríos met this Tuesday, November 5, to advance the analysis.
Argentina.- The public health; social development; and education, science and technology committees of the Chamber of Deputies of Entre Ríos met yesterday, Tuesday, November 5, to continue with the unification of four projects related to the regulation of online betting games.
The initiative presented by deputy Carolina Streintenberger proposes, in addition to a comprehensive approach to gambling addiction, providing tools for working on prevention; with the same goal, deputy Stefanía Cora establishes in her project the intention to create the “Provincial Program for the Prevention of Online Gambling Addiction in the Educational Field”. Deputy Carlos Damasco is the author of a project that establishes the creation of the “Provincial Registry of Online Bettors”. The committee also analyzed the project, with similar characteristics, presented by former deputy Juan Pablo Cosso.
The Commission received contributions from specialists on the subject, such as the director of Prevention and Control of Addictions of Entre Ríos, Pablo Cymbalista, who pointed out that “all the initiatives are very interesting to establish parameters and tools that protect citizens from problematic consumption, in this case of gambling, and primarily protect minors”. In this sense, he stated that “we do not intend to prohibit, but to make available to everyone elements that allow them to be informed and have knowledge to make the best decisions”.
Another invitee was Florentina López, coordinator of ESI and Transversal Policies of the CGE, who noted that online betting and gambling addiction are a complex, worrying issue that requires urgent intervention.
López declared: “We believe that we must aim to work in schools, with the entire community and in conjunction with the health area, uniting criteria and strengthening the educational perspective that involves strengthening prevention, that is, not waiting for an entire course to be affected by a problematic situation, but to anticipate and act before”.
See also: The gaming industry in Entre Ríos: IAFAS projects profits of USD2.7m for 2024
The presidents of both committees took note of all the contributions that emerged in yesterday's meeting and advanced on the common points that will allow the drafting of a single project for its treatment in the chamber.
The deputies began addressing this issue two weeks ago in a joint meeting of the public health and social development committees. The first meeting included the participation of provincial authorities, among them, representatives of the Institute of Financial Assistance for Social Action (IAFAS).
The initiative presented by deputy Carolina Streintenberger, contemplates the “prevention and comprehensive approach to online gambling addiction”.
The text focuses on online gaming and sports betting modalities, but also mentions “loot boxes” in video games. In that sense, it establishes measures to promote “responsible advertising”, “control and security measures” on online gaming platforms and a “registry of people with gambling addiction” (sic).
The project introduced by deputy Carlos Damasco establishes the creation of a Provincial Registry of Bettors, to ensure that users of online gaming platforms are of legal age. According to the measure, the registry “will operate under the orbit of IAFAS, which will be in charge of its creation, regulation, implementation, and updating”. Additionally, it points out that the provincial state should use the tools at its disposal, such as the network of lottery agencies.
The initiative, presented by provincial senator Juan Pablo Cosso, aims to implement in the province a preventive campaign aimed at children and adolescents, about the risks of online betting.
The project also contemplates the dissemination of material, training of teachers on the subject, conducting workshops and seminars, articulation with civil society organizations as well as the detection and referral to the socio-sanitary assistance system in suspected cases of gambling addiction, among other actions.
The text by Stefanía Cora is oriented towards the creation of a Provincial Program for the Prevention of Online Gambling Addiction in the Educational Field. The project presented emphasizes the development of “digital citizenship”, understood as “the exercise of rights and responsibilities in digital environments”.
