Argentina bill would block banks, crypto from illegal online bets
A bill before Argentina’s Congress would bar banks, payment firms and crypto providers from servicing unauthorized online gambling platforms and allow authorities to block related transactions.
Argentina presented a bill to Congress to bar banks, payment firms and crypto providers from servicing unauthorized online gambling platforms and to give authorities the power to block transactions linked to those sites. The Ministry of Health published an official notice on Tuesday outlining the proposal.
The draft, titled the Bill for the Prevention of Gambling and Regulation of Online Gambling, ties gambling regulation to payment systems and virtual asset services. It aims to reduce gambling addiction by restricting how users access and fund online platforms, limiting advertising and strengthening enforcement.
“It establishes that financial entities, providers of payment services or virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) are prohibited from offering their services to unauthorized gambling operators,” the notice states.
A central element is payment infrastructure. Regulators would be empowered to block or require intermediaries to stop transactions identified as linked to unlicensed gambling activity. The draft indicates that requirement could reach crypto intermediaries such as centralized exchanges and fiat on-ramps, asking them to identify and block transfers tied to gambling-related wallets or merchant flows.
The bill would ban advertising for unauthorized operators across digital media. Online marketplaces, social networks and other platforms that carry ads for betting services could be required to verify operators’ authorization status or face penalties.
Courts and regulators have taken action against some prediction markets. In March a court ordered the national communications and media regulator to block access to Polymarket after a case brought by the Buenos Aires City Lottery, the state authority that oversees gambling in the city.
The draft does not set out the full range of penalties or the technical standards financial firms must use to detect and block suspect transactions. Intermediaries may need to adopt monitoring tools, update customer due diligence and coordinate with regulators to identify prohibited flows.
The bill moves to Congress for debate and vote, where lawmakers will review its provisions and potential effects on Argentina’s financial and digital sectors.
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