Argentina’s National Congress is considering a proposal to redirect part of the country’s online-gambling tax receipts towards treatment and prevention of problem gambling. The plan, put forward by National Deputy Victoria Tolosa Paz, would allocate ARS 5.33 billion to the Comprehensive Plan for Addressing Problematic Substance Use, known as IACOP, with a particular focus on minors.
Tolosa Paz presented the measure on Nov. 4 at a joint informational meeting of the Chamber of Deputies’ committees on addiction prevention and on families, children and youth. One-quarter of the proposed IACOP funding would be reserved for programmes for children and adolescents.
The funding would come from the 5% of online-gambling tax revenue earmarked for ARSAT. That portion had been collected but not spent, according to reporting by iGaming Today and Focus Gaming News. Argentina collected ARS 106 billion in online-gambling tax revenue between January and August, making the proposed redirection worth about US$3.4 million at the conversion cited by Focus Gaming News.
Tolosa Paz, who chairs the addiction-prevention committee, said the approach would not require a new tax or alter the division of revenue between the federal government and provinces. Under the existing arrangement, 95% of the receipts are shared with provincial governments and 5% is allocated to ARSAT. “Let gambling fund the recovery,” she said, arguing that local services lack dedicated resources and specialist tools to give minors timely support.
A separate proposal aired at the meeting by Deputy Horacio Pietragalla Corti would impose a 1% contribution on sectors associated with problematic consumption, including online betting, alcohol and energy drinks, and tobacco.
The funding debate comes amid evidence of substantial adolescent exposure to betting. A 2025 Cruz Roja Argentina survey of 11,421 secondary-school students aged 13 to 18 found that 16% had bet online directly and a further 45% had been exposed through close contacts who gamble. Among those who had bet, 69% reported anxiety or distress, while eight in 10 respondents considered current measures against minors’ access ineffective.
Tolosa Paz also called on the Senate to take up the pending bill on pathological-gambling prevention and online-betting regulation. The Chamber of Deputies passed that legislation on Nov. 27, 2024, by 139 votes to 36, with 59 abstentions, and sent it to the Senate. The bill would bar under-18s from online gambling platforms and prohibit gambling promotion, sponsorship, welcome bonuses and influencer participation.
Senator Lucía Corpacci secured unanimous approval on Oct. 29 for preferential consideration of the Senate bill before Nov. 30, when it could lose parliamentary status. Tolosa Paz said the committees planned to seek a joint report with the Budget and Finance Committee on Nov. 12, aiming to bring the IACOP funding proposal to the chamber floor before year-end.
