A Buenos Aires provincial senator has introduced a bill that would dismantle the province's licensed online-gambling framework and prohibit online sports betting and casino games. The proposal has entered the legislative debate, but it has not been approved and does not change the law currently in force.
Federico Fagioli of Fuerza Patria is sponsoring the measure, which supporters have informally called the "Ley Lula" after Brazil's recent fixed-odds betting ban. Current reporting from Diputados Bonaerenses and Focus Gaming News says the bill would cover online sports wagers placed before or during events, virtual games and online casino products including slots, roulette, blackjack and poker.
The central legal change would be the repeal of Articles 146 through 173 of Law 15,079. The province's official law database shows that Title VIII begins at Article 146 and establishes the existing online-gambling system, including the licensing authority, permitted products, operator duties and fees. Fagioli's proposal would leave lotteries, quinielas and drawings outside the new ban, along with electronic sales of games that do not involve wagering for cash prizes.
The draft includes a transition for licensed operators if it becomes law. They would immediately stop taking new deposits for the prohibited products. Within ten calendar days, they would have to block new sessions for users in Buenos Aires Province and remove advertising, promotions, bonuses and sponsorships. The marketing restriction would also reach affiliate promotions, influencers and promotional codes.
Operators would have 30 calendar days to return the full balance in each player account and submit an individualized report on balances, pending bets, prizes and repayments to the Provincial Institute of Lotteries and Casinos. The regulator would be directed to identify and block unauthorized sites, apps and other digital channels offering the prohibited activity.
Fagioli argues that permanent access through phones has weakened the physical and time barriers that once separated consumers from gambling. The bill therefore frames the issue as a public-health choice rather than a question of tightening license conditions.
As G3 Newswire notes, the proposal sits alongside other provincial initiatives focused on restrictions and problem-gambling prevention. Its introduction begins a legislative path; the existing licenses and rules remain operative unless lawmakers pass the bill and it completes the required enactment process.
