In a decisive move to curb the proliferation of unregulated betting, the City of Buenos Aires Lottery (LOTBA) has implemented a pioneering corrective strategy: mandatory training courses for social media influencers.
The initiative specifically targets digital personalities previously flagged for promoting unauthorized gambling platforms, shifting the regulatory focus toward individual accountability in the digital age.
Corrective Education vs. Criminal Prosecution
Throughout 2025 and into 2026, Argentina witnessed a surge in social media stars leveraging their massive followings to advertise offshore betting sites that lacked LOTBA authorization. In response, the regulator initiated over one hundred lawsuits, citing violations of Article 301 bis of the Argentine Penal Code, which criminalizes illegal gambling promotion.
As part of reparation agreements brokered by the FEJA (Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in Gaming Matters), headed by Prosecutor Juan Rozas, offenders were required to undergo educational sessions. In some high-profile cases, the judiciary mandated that influencers post awareness-raising videos on their personal profiles to inform their audiences about the dangers of illegal wagering.
The Training Curriculum: Transparency and Protection
The training sessions, which included more than forty participants, focused on the lack of consumer guarantees on unlicensed platforms and the severe risks of facilitating underage betting. LOTBA representatives emphasized that as influencers play a critical role in content dissemination, they share a legal and moral responsibility to protect vulnerable demographics.
“The main task was to raise public awareness of the threats of online gambling and the importance of using only legal platforms as an effective way to prevent dangerous conduct in the young audience,” LOTBA stated, highlighting their shift toward a more holistic, preventative regulatory model.
