Argentina prepares new federal online gaming framework
National trade body preparing proposals for a federal regulatory framework to replace current provincial system
Argentina’s Board of the Association of Lotteries and Casinos (ALEA) is preparing a proposal for a federal framework for online gambling to replace the current, province-regulated market.
Under the current system, Argentina’s 23 provinces and the capital Buenos Aires reserve the right to regulate forms of gambling on a provincial basis, which has resulted in inconsistent regulation and a large unregulated market.
The new proposals, discussed at an ALEA meeting last week, would see the creation of a federal framework for all online games and bring the country’s online gambling regulation under one authority.
Local press reports quote the ALEA as having said it hoped the creation and introduction of such a framework would help eliminate the financing of terrorism and prevent money laundering, while also increasing contributions to community welfare projects.
The talks comprised technicians from each regulatory body from all of Argentina’s individual provinces, with further discussions set to take place within the next 60 days.
Bwin.party was one of the largest online gaming operators in the country until it exited the market in November 2012.
The country’s Misiones province said that it had terminated the operator’s licence owing to a “breach of contract”, however bwin.party insisted that the decision to leave the market was “purely commercial”.