Buenos Aires Deputy Proposes Strict Session Caps and Biometric Checks for Online Betting

A new legislative push in Buenos Aires province seeks to impose tighter controls on licensed online gambling platforms. Deputy Mayra Mendoza has introduced a bill that would limit individual playing sessions to 60 minutes, after which the system must automatically close the account and enforce a one-hour lockout before any new login is permitted.

Under the proposal, users would be restricted to a maximum of three logins per 24-hour period. Once that cap is hit, the platform would have to block further access until the next day and display a mandatory responsible gambling warning. Operators would also be required to continuously show the elapsed time and total money wagered during each session, and must issue alerts that interrupt gameplay when a user’s behavior indicates a potential loss of control.

Biometric facial recognition would become compulsory for logging into betting accounts, making deposits and withdrawals, and placing bets above a minimum threshold to be determined by regulation. In presenting the bill, Mendoza remarked: “Cyber gambling addiction has established itself as a complex problem that cuts across all age groups, manifesting with particular intensity among adolescents and young adults.”

Operators that fail to comply could face fines, temporary suspension of their license, or permanent revocation of their authorization to operate in the province. The legislation also calls for a permanent working group within the legislature’s Gambling, Lottery and Ludopathy Prevention Committee, which would include civil society organizations and specialists to monitor implementation. The bill has been referred to that committee, chaired by lawmaker Micaela Olivetto, which was created during the chamber’s February session. To date, the committee has not issued a ruling on any of the dozens of pending bills addressing compulsive gambling and underage betting in the province.