The May 22 proposal would force banks and VASPs to block payments to unlicensed betting sites, raising compliance costs. Polymarket's March restriction signals risk for prediction markets.
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President Javier Milei's government forwarded a package of four legislative proposals to Congress on May 22. One would prohibit banks, payment service providers, and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) from processing any transactions tied to unauthorized gambling operations. The bill was developed with Sedronar, Argentina's drug and addiction policy agency, and the Ministry of Health, framing the measure as a public health intervention.
The proposal makes it illegal for any financial entity, including crypto companies, to offer services to unauthorized gambling operators. The National Securities Commission (CNV) would enforce compliance among digital asset entities. Argentina's Law 27,739, enacted in March 2024, already mandated VASP registration with the CNV, with full compliance due by December 31, 2025. This bill adds a new obligation: registered VASPs must actively screen for and block transactions linked to unlicensed gambling.
The bill targets payment flows, not cryptocurrency holdings or trading. VASPs licensed in Argentina must build or acquire transaction monitoring systems capable of identifying payments destined for unlicensed betting platforms. The CNV has been expanding its oversight toolkit since Law 27,739 took effect. Adding anti-gambling transaction screening is a natural extension of that trajectory. This follows a broader trend of crypto exchanges tightening risk standards at record pace.
Argentina has already demonstrated willingness to shut down unlicensed gambling platforms. In April 2026, authorities blocked 251 unlicensed gambling websites in Buenos Aires province alone. Those blocks targeted operators directly. The new bill targets the payment layer, creating a second line of enforcement.
In March 2026, a month before the website sweep, Argentina restricted Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction market, at the national level. The platform was blocked for operating without a betting license. This classification of prediction markets as gambling creates a precedent for any crypto platform offering event-based contracts. Every additional jurisdiction that follows Argentina's lead increases regulatory friction for platforms like Polymarket. The CNV enforces both the VASP registration regime and the gambling transaction ban, giving it a unified view of the crypto-payment ecosystem.
The bill still needs to pass through Argentina's Congress. The Milei government holds a minority in both chambers. The legislative calendar is uncertain. Immediate market impact is minimal. The bill's public health framing gives it bipartisan appeal. Addiction-focused legislation often moves faster than pure financial regulation in Argentina.
For now, the bill's trajectory will be a near-term regulatory focal point for crypto operations in Latin America's third-largest economy. VASPs with weak compliance systems face the most disruption. The Polymarket precedent suggests that prediction markets are in the crosshairs not just of Argentina's gambling law but of a broader international pattern of classifying event-based contracts as unlicensed betting. Licensed VASPs should monitor the CNV's next steps and prepare for an active screening requirement that could take effect as early as 2026.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.