Buenos Aires Province moves to ban gambling ads in sport
Table of contents
- Buenos Aires Province Senator Malena Galmarini has introduced a bill to prohibit online gambling advertising at and around sports venues across the province.
- The proposal would ban betting brands from kit sponsorships and stadium signage within 100 meters of venues, with fines of up to 50,000 fine units for non-compliance.
- The bill arrives as Argentina’s federal advertising ban remains stalled in the Senate, adding further pressure on operators including Betsson and Codere.
Buenos Aires Province Senator Malena Galmarini has introduced legislation that would ban online gambling advertising at sports events and venues across the province, threatening existing kit sponsorship deals held by some of Argentina’s biggest football clubs.
The bill prohibits gambling-related signage within 100 meters of sports venues and bans betting brands from appearing on sports kits. If passed, clubs including Boca Juniors and River Plate, currently sponsored by Betsson and Codere respectively, would be in direct conflict with provincial law.
Child protection focus
Galmarini emphasized that the bill is designed to protect younger audiences rather than restrict the gambling industry outright.
Malena Galmarini, Senator, Buenos Aires Province, said:
“The objective is not to ban the gambling industry itself, nor its advertising in general terms, but rather to protect a specific and particularly sensitive space: the community sports environment – a setting frequented by children, adolescents and families.”
The bill designates the Provincial Undersecretariat of Sports as the enforcement authority, working alongside the Undersecretariat for Consumer Protection and the Provincial Agency for Childhood and Adolescence. Municipalities would also take on responsibility for compliance within their own jurisdictions.
The proposal covers billboards and venue signage, the use of operator names or trademarks to identify facilities, and the display of gambling brands on club jerseys and other sports clothing.
The legislation also specifically targets sub-brands that are “substantially associated” with operators through typography or design, a provision aimed at closing workarounds seen in other markets.
Inter Milan, for example, are sponsored by Betsson’s media arm following Italy’s ban on direct betting sponsorship in sport.
Penalties and enforcement
Operators that fail to comply face sanctions ranging from formal warnings to fines of between 500 and 50,000 fine units. The Executive Branch would also retain the right to suspend or revoke advertising licences and permits.
Galmarini added:
“The bill seeks to uphold substantial public interests – such as public health and the protection of minors against gambling addiction – and constitutes a proportionate initiative, given that it does not prohibit the activity itself or its advertising in general, but merely removes it from the community sports environment.”
Galmarini pointed to Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands as markets that already prohibit kit sponsorship by betting companies in professional sport.
Federal backdrop
The provincial bill arrives at a fraught moment for Argentina’s broader regulatory landscape. In November 2024, Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved a wide-ranging federal advertising ban by 139 votes to 36, but the measure has since stalled in the Senate amid heavy lobbying from industry stakeholders.
A separate bill introduced in the national Senate by Senator Gerardo Zamora also targets gambling promotion, seeking to ban betting ads on sports shirts, in stadiums and in spaces close to schools and venues frequented by children. A commission in the Chamber of Deputies has additionally been created to examine dozens of related bills focused on gambling addiction.
Legal analysts have warned that the continued federal delay risks regulatory fragmentation, as provinces like Buenos Aires pursue their own frameworks in the absence of a national law.
For operators with existing sponsorship arrangements in the province, Galmarini’s bill adds another layer of uncertainty to a market already navigating competing provincial and federal demands. With Argentina’s biggest clubs caught between commercial contracts and tightening regulation, the legislative pressure on sports betting’s most visible marketing channel shows no sign of easing.
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