Senator Malmeneri from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, has recently submitted a bill aiming to completely strip online gambling ads from sports events across the province. The sharpest cut of the bill targets jersey sponsorship—banning any gambling ad signage within 100 meters of sports venues, including exposure of gambling brands on team jerseys. This cut visibly scars the Argentine football landscape: Boca Juniors is currently sponsored by Betsson, and River Plate by Codere, with both clubs' gambling sponsorship revenues set to be cut in half. In her proposal statement, Malmeneri spoke with restraint—she stated that the goal of the bill is not to prohibit the gambling industry itself, nor to completely ban its advertising, but to protect a special and particularly sensitive space: the community sports environment, a place frequented by children, adolescents, and families.
From fines to revocation of licenses: the enforcement toolkit
Once the bill is passed, enforcement authority will be granted to the Provincial Sports Deputy Secretariat, which will coordinate with the Provincial Consumer Protection Deputy Secretariat and the Provincial Bureau of Children and Adolescents Affairs, with municipal governments responsible for compliance enforcement within their jurisdictions. The Provincial Lottery and Casino Administration will provide technical assistance to operators affected by the ban. The penalty ladder for violations ranges from formal warnings to financial penalties between 500 and 50,000 penalty units, currently equivalent to about 2215 Argentine pesos (approximately 1.59 USD) each, with the maximum fine reaching about 79,514 USD. The executive branch also retains the power to suspend or revoke the licenses and permits of operators involved in advertising activities. Malmeneri emphasized that the bill aims to protect public interests—such as public health and protecting minors from gambling addiction—and constitutes a proportionate legislative initiative, as it does not prohibit gambling activities or general gambling advertising, but merely removes them from the community sports environment.
Lessons and enforcement loopholes from Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands
In her proposal, Malmeneri cited similar bans in countries like Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands as legislative references. Football teams in these countries have been prohibited from accepting gambling sponsors on their jerseys, but some operators have circumvented the ban through media affiliate brands or brands associated with suggestive text and visual symbols. Malmeneri's bill specifically targets these evasion strategies with penetrating coverage clauses—the ban will apply to sub-brands "substantially associated" with gambling brands through fonts or design and other visual elements. This defensive legislative technique will expose gray areas to strict regulation, making it difficult for gambling operators to maintain their substantial presence in sports scenes by formally stripping brand colors and fonts.
PASA official website continues to track the legislative forefront of gambling advertising regulation in Latin America, noting that this provincial ban in Argentina—focusing on the community sports environment rather than the entire market, and using visual penetration clauses to combat associated brand circumvention—is providing a more operable legislative reference framework for gambling advertising regulation in Latin America.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
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