TLDR
- Entre Ríos, Argentina, has passed a law barring people on its child support debtors register from casinos and gambling venues.
- The ban also covers some paid cultural and sporting events.
- A person can be listed after missing five payments in a row or three payments that are not in a row.
- The provincial register holds about 700 names and is updated often.
- Buenos Aires Province is weighing a similar online gambling ban, and the City of Buenos Aires already has one.
The Argentine province of Entre Ríos has passed a law that bars people on its child support debtors list from entering casinos and gambling venues. The ban also covers some paid cultural and sporting events.
The provincial Senate gave final approval to changes to Law No. 9,424. That law created the provincial Register of Child Support Debtors in August 2002.
Provincial deputy Lorenza Arrozogaray introduced the proposal. She said the goal is to strengthen the enforcement of child support duties.
What the New Law Does
Under the updated law, casinos and gaming businesses in Entre Ríos cannot admit people listed on the provincial register. The same rule will apply to paid cultural and sporting events.
The changes will be rolled out gradually. The province’s gambling regulator, the Institute of Aid and Social Action of Entre Ríos (IAFAS), will work with the officials who keep the register.
Arrozogaray said the law is not meant to punish people facing short-term money problems. “This law is not intended to punish or pursue those who, for a temporary reason, have lost their jobs,” she told Argentine outlet El Once.
She said budgets should be built around the legal duty to care for children. “Leisure cannot come before responsibility toward children,” she said.
She added that if someone can pay for a ticket, a show or a gambling venue, a child’s needs should not come second.
Who Counts as a Debtor
According to Arrozogaray, a person can be labeled a delinquent child support debtor after missing five payments in a row. Missing three payments that are not in a row also qualifies.
She said child support covers more than food. It also includes clothing, education, housing and other basic needs for a child’s growth.
The push for the law came in part from mothers. They reported that parents who did not pay child support were still going to events, casinos and gambling venues.
“I am a provincial deputy for Gualeguaychú, and they told me they needed child support payments to be enforced, beyond simply having the debtor listed in the register,” Arrozogaray said.
The Entre Ríos register holds about 700 names. Arrozogaray said the list is updated often as new information arrives.
Other parts of Argentina are taking similar steps. In Buenos Aires Province, deputy Viviana Guzzo has introduced a bill to stop registered debtors from betting on online gambling sites.
Her proposal would change Laws No. 15,079 and No. 13,074, which cover online gambling and the debtors register. It would also limit debtors’ access to some banking services, public bank loans, financing programs, subsidies, concessions, permits and public tenders.
The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires already has laws that ban registered child support debtors from gambling online or running gambling websites.
In Entre Ríos, the next step is coordination between the gambling regulator and the register authorities. They will put the new restrictions in place in stages.
