A bill in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province would require licensed online betting platforms to verify users with real-time facial recognition and impose strict time and login limits, a response to what its author calls a rising tide of gambling addiction among young people.
Introduced by provincial deputy Mayra Mendoza, the measure would apply to the seven operators licensed by the province’s Institute of Lotteries and Casinos, a roster that includes Bet365, Betano, Stake, and Betsson. Its centerpiece for identity is biometric validation: real-time facial recognition would become mandatory for logging into a platform, for making deposits or withdrawals, and for placing bets above a threshold to be set by regulators, tying each of those actions to a live face check rather than a one-time account verification.
The bill pairs that with behavioral guardrails. Sessions would be capped at 60 minutes, after which the platform must automatically log the user out and block a new login for at least an hour, and users would be limited to three logins per 24 hours before the platform locks access until the next day. Operators would have to display elapsed time and money wagered continuously and trigger interrupting alerts when behavior suggests a loss of control. Non-compliant platforms could face fines, temporary suspension, or permanent revocation of their license.
“Cyber-gambling addiction has consolidated as a complex issue affecting all age groups, showing up with particular aggressiveness in adolescents and young adults,” Mendoza said, arguing that always-on online betting poses a different risk than land-based gambling because it is woven into the daily digital lives of younger users. The bill would give the executive branch up to 90 days to set technical rules and designate an enforcement authority.
The proposal joins a global wave of lawmakers turning to biometrics to keep minors and problem gamblers off betting platforms, from a US bipartisan bill mandating facial age checks for sportsbooks and prediction markets to operators adopting identity checks under new rules, as BOYLE Sports did with Jumio under Ireland’s gambling regime. The Buenos Aires bill goes further than most by requiring a face check at the point of every significant transaction, not merely at the door.
Repeated in-session face checks raise their own questions about accuracy, accessibility, and how much biometric data operators would process, issues the bill leaves for the enforcement authority and technical rules it instructs the province to set.
Sources: Yogonet
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
