This article organizes the situation of the gambling industry within Argentina, focusing on online gambling legislation related to sports betting and gambling games.
Argentina ranks fourth in population in Latin America and is the second largest economy in the region. Online gambling is not regulated by the federal supreme authority but is decentralized, with each district within the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the other 23 provinces outside the autonomous city having their own independent gambling regulatory bodies.
Argentina also regulates gambling advertising, stipulating that advertisements must not target minors, must not feature minors, and must not use misleading or deceptive content to lure people into gambling. Additionally, only authorized operators are allowed to advertise domestically.
Overall, the gambling industry is widely accepted in Argentine society. Physical gambling has long been regulated, and operating various venues such as casinos, racetracks, betting shops, entertainment venues, and lottery sales must be authorized under compliance.
Online gambling has long been issued only in relatively less populated areas, and if the number of players exceeds that of other more populated areas (such as the capital city of Buenos Aires), operators face prosecution (administrative and criminal) and website blocking. For example, the regulatory body in the capital has taken action against operators licensed by the province of Misiones, located at the country's border.
The lack of homogeneity limits the development of the online gambling industry. It was not until the second half of 2018 that the country's two most populous and wealthiest regions—the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province—enacted online gambling and gambling-related regulations and signed a cooperation agreement on this matter.
Since then, more and more provinces have followed suit, regulating online gambling. Under this trend, gambling is now legal in Buenos Aires and other provinces such as Santa Fe, Misiones, San Luis, Entre Rios, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chaco, Cordoba, and Tucuman. In these areas, licenses are granted to operators through a competitive bidding process. In other provinces, online gambling remains unregulated or is still prohibited. Overall, the legislative process for online gambling varies across Argentine provinces, creating a complex environment for operators and players.
Unless explicitly permitted, all local online gambling within judicial jurisdictions is illegal. Since each province and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires retain regulatory authority, the country has up to 24 gambling-related regulatory bodies.
The following are the names of all regulatory bodies in the country:
• Lotería de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires SE (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires)
• Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Province)
• Caja de Prestaciones Sociales de la Provincia de Catamarca (Catamarca Province)
• Lotería Chaqueña (Chaco Province)
• Instituto de Asistencia Social de Chubut (Chubut Province)
• Lotería de la Provincia de Córdoba SE (Cordoba Province)
• Instituto de Lotería y Casinos de Corrientes (Corrientes Province)
• Instituto de Ayuda Financiera a la Acción Social (Entre Rios Province)
• Instituto de Asistencia Social (Formosa Province)
• Instituto Provincial de Juegos de Azar de Jujuy (Jujuy Province)
• Instituto de Seguridad Social de La Pampa (La Pampa Province)
• Administración General de Juegos de Azar de La Rioja (La Rioja Province)
• Instituto Provincial de Juegos y Casinos de la Provincia de Mendoza (Mendoza Province)
• Instituto Provincial de Loterías y Casinos de la Provincia de Misiones SE (Misiones Province)
• Instituto Provincial de Juegos de Azar de Neuquén (Neuquen Province)
• Lotería para Obras de Acción Social de la Provincia de Rio Negro (Rio Negro Province)
• Ente Regulador del Juego de Azar de la Provincia de Salta (Salta Province)
• Caja de Acción Social de San Juan (San Juan Province)
• Caja Social y Financiera de la Provincia de San Luis (San Luis Province)
• Lotería para Obras de Acción Social de la Provincia de Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz Province)
• Caja de Asistencia Social de la Provincia de Santa Fe (Santa Fe Province)
• Caja Social de Santiago del Estero (Santiago del Estero Province)
• Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur (Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands Province)
• Caja Popular de Ahorros de la Provincia de Tucumán (Tucuman Province)
All provincial lotteries are members of the Association of Argentine State Lotteries (ALEA), which is a member of the World Lottery Association, but ALEA only manages all individual lotteries as an umbrella entity and does not have gambling-related regulatory and enforcement authority.
Buenos Aires (Capital)
The autonomous city of Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina, with a population of about 3 million, and is an autonomous city not belonging to any province. The city has its own government, jurisdiction, and political structure, and has a mayor and a legislative council.
In December 2018, the capital passed its own law to regulate online gambling, including casinos, poker, and lottery games. According to this law, the Buenos Aires Lottery Management Authority is the only regulatory body, and there is no specific limit on the number of licenses that can be issued.
The legislative process was not finalized until February 2020, and the subsequently established Lottery Management Authority also listed future operator standards, including having at least two years of online business operation experience and a corporate value of at least $25 million.
Operators holding a license need to pay an annual fee of $100,000 and a 10% total revenue tax, plus a $30,000 application fee. Initially, existing physical casinos and gambling hall operators within the capital were not eligible. However, in May 2020, several physical casino operators (led by Codere) filed a lawsuit to prevent the introduction of the online gambling market in the Argentine capital, affecting the license issuance system. This system was adjusted in September 2020, and local physical operators were eligible to apply.
While focusing on reviewing received online license applications, to mitigate the financial hole caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the authorities (under special lottery authorization) issued temporary licenses to the Palermo Racino and Buenos Aires Ferry Casino—both companies launched their own online casinos in April 2021.
According to lottery officials, after Codere filed a lawsuit called "Platform Implementation Plan" in 2020 and was approved by the city's lottery bureau at the end of the same year, the application threshold for licenses was significantly lowered. As of January 2021, 15 online license applications had been submitted to the authorities for review.
Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province also introduced legislation on online casinos and sports betting in December 2018. The total revenue tax that operators in the province need to pay is 25%, divided into three independent tax types, with rates of 8%, 15%, and (in principle) a maximum of 2% fixed levy.
The Provincial Lottery and Casino Association (IPLyC) is the licensing authority for the province, and seven online gambling licenses have been issued so far. International operators wishing to apply must partner with a domestic company to qualify. The agency announced the seven operators granted licenses in January 2021 as:
• Flutter Entertainment
• Bet365
• Playtech
• 888
• Intralot
• William Hill
• Betsson
Overall, regulating online gambling in the capital and surrounding provinces is very important, as these areas account for about 46% of Argentina's total population.
Cordoba Province
This province is the second most populous in Argentina, with a population of about 3.5 million. In the last week of 2021, the province passed a law to regulate online casinos, lottery games, and sports betting.
The legislative framework of the province mimics the style of the capital city, offering up to 10 licenses through competitive bidding, with the Cordoba Province Lottery Board as the licensing authority.
Santa Fe Province
As the third largest province in Argentina, the government responded to the revenue loss caused by the coronavirus and approved a decree in September 2020, allowing physical casinos in the province that were closed due to the pandemic to offer online casino games. Rosario city, after obtaining permission, became the first city to offer online gambling within just two months.
