Argentina’s Pico City Council approves bill to curb youth gambling

What’s driving a local crackdown

A small-city push to curb youth gambling in Argentina lands amid a wider rethinking of online wagering’s reach, and the risks it poses to teenagers and young adults. Policymakers from Latin America to Asia and the United States are recalibrating rules and enforcement as digital betting spreads through phones, social media and sports culture. The thread across jurisdictions is consistent: youth exposure is rising faster than safeguards, and regulators are moving to close the gap.

The measures now surfacing reflect three overlapping concerns. First, the ease of access to offshore and unregulated sites that target minors or evade identity checks. Second, the rapid normalization of gambling through sports sponsorships, player-focused markets and micro bets that invite frequent wagers. Third, the strain on public systems—healthcare, education, law enforcement—when addiction and illegal activity siphon resources or demand new ones.

Where cities and regions see warning signs in schools and families, the response is trending toward prevention programs, ad curbs and cross-agency enforcement. Elsewhere, lawmakers are trying to channel existing demand into regulated markets with taxes and dedicated funds for problem gambling. Both tracks point to a common calculus: inaction risks higher social costs later.

Regional signals: enforcement to protect public health

Colombia illustrates how local enforcement is being paired with public health priorities. The national regulator Coljuegos signed a cooperation pact with Valle del Cauca’s governor and the state-run Valle Lottery to go after illegal games that divert money intended for hospitals and clinics. The agreement targets unlicensed raffles, unregistered “white chance” games and underground rooms. As Coljuegos noted in announcing the Valle del Cauca legality pact, safeguarding healthcare transfers is a shared responsibility.

The numbers show the stakes. Between January and August 2025, legal lotteries and authorized games sent about COP426.5 million to the health system, the regulator said, with roughly COP48 billion already allocated to Valle del Cauca’s healthcare sector this year. A new Keno concession is expected to contribute as much as COP485 billion over five years. The message is that legal markets fund public goods while illegal play undercuts them—an argument that resonates when youth gambling climbs and treatment services lag.

That framing matters for municipal leaders weighing prevention. If illegal gambling erodes revenue earmarked for social services, cities may end up paying twice: once in lost funds and again in expanded addiction and youth support programs. Coordinated crackdowns paired with education are emerging as the favored combination.

Youth exposure becomes a flashpoint

Warnings from Thailand underscore how quickly online gambling can penetrate youth cohorts. A youth network petitioned the prime minister to reconsider legalizing online wagering, citing data that 32.3% of Thai people ages 15 to 25 gambled online in 2023. The group’s leaders argued that legalization without guardrails risked an addiction wave, estimating that one in four—around 739,000 young people—could become addicted. The petition, reported by the Bangkok Post and recapped by Complete iGaming, details these concerns in the youth coalition’s appeal.

The Thai debate highlights two issues relevant to local policymakers. First, legal status alone does not determine youth access; underage users already find ways onto platforms through payments and private links. Second, policy changes can inadvertently normalize gambling, especially when tied to tax revenue or development narratives. That perception can complicate prevention work in schools and homes, where mixed messages weaken deterrence.

India’s experience with illegal platforms reinforces these risks. A report from Consumer Unity & Trust Society estimated nearly US$100 billion in annual deposits flowing through unregulated sites and more than 5.4 billion visits to the top 15 platforms between April 2024 and March 2025. The study warned that operators use tactics to bypass age and identity checks and pull youth into closed channels. The findings, summarized in a report on illegal gambling’s impact on Indian youth, call for a national framework, tech company cooperation and public awareness campaigns. The lesson is sobering: even without legalization, digital reach can overwhelm fragmented oversight.

Regulate or restrict? Mixed models take shape

Some U.S. states are trying to contain harm by moving activity into regulated venues with dedicated funding. Indiana advanced House Bill 1432 out of a key committee to legalize igaming with a September 2025 launch target. The measure would tax operators at 26% until mid-2026 before shifting to tiered rates. It also mandates new contributions to the state’s problem gaming fund—at least US$250,000 annually from each of the 13 casinos and US$500,000 from the lottery—and raises the online sports betting tax to 20%. Backers argue, as described in coverage of Indiana’s committee vote, that regulated markets can displace offshore play and finance stronger consumer protections.

The approach is not a cure-all. As the gaming menu expands, specific bet types can raise integrity and harassment concerns. The NBA and its players’ union jointly endorsed tighter limits on player prop markets after federal investigations into multiple betting incidents, including a guilty plea by Jontay Porter in July 2024 and a request to remove certain prop options for two-way contract players. The league and union’s call for restrictions on player props mirrors steps by some state regulators to curb micro bets. The broader point: even in licensed markets, product design influences risk, especially for young bettors drawn to rapid, personalized wagers.

For municipal leaders, these examples offer a menu of tools—age-gating and ad controls, school-based education, targeted bet limits, dedicated treatment funds and cross-agency enforcement. The mix depends on local conditions, but the trend is toward more active management of how and where youth encounter gambling.

The stakes for families, schools and city budgets

When minors bet, the social costs surface quickly. Schools report disciplinary issues, theft and absenteeism tied to debt and compulsion. Families face financial strain and the challenge of confronting addictive behavior that often hides in apps and private chats. Cities contend with the downstream costs of counseling, policing and lost youth productivity. These burdens rarely appear in early revenue forecasts or legalization debates but show up in classrooms and clinics.

That is why prevention and enforcement are advancing together. Localities looking to blunt youth gambling are borrowing elements seen in Colombia’s health-driven enforcement pacts, Thailand’s caution on normalization and Indiana’s funding earmarks tied to legalization. Analysts warn that delay carries compounding costs: patterns formed at ages 12 to 17 are harder and more expensive to reverse in adulthood.

The policy playbook is getting clearer. Limit exposure where youth congregate online. Police illegal supply that evades taxes and safeguards. Channel inevitable demand into regulated products with fewer high-risk features and stronger identity checks. Fund education and treatment before caseloads surge. And keep incentives aligned so that public health, not short-term revenue, drives decisions.