Argentina is the second-largest and second-most populous country in Latin America. In the gambling sector, the jurisdiction of gambling games is administered by local financial institutions. Gambling activities of all 23 provinces and cities of Buenos Aires are under the supervision of this agency.
The jurisdiction of more than 3,200 municipalities in Argentina contains restrictions on the licensing of land-based casino operations. The powers and rules of each city will be at the discretion of the provincial legislature. Bueno Aires alone does not have a municipal government level directly under the central government.
General rules in Argentina regarding betting activities must be licensed by the competent authority but in general gambling games are prohibited.
In December 2016, there were some changes to the National Penal Code of Argentina. Adoption of Law No. 27.346, if gaming and gambling business activities are not authorized by the authorities or local authorities, are legally responsible, and the penalties imposed on individuals or moderators of the organization is from 3 to 6 years in prison. Although the rules have been made clear, Argentinians ignore and the organization of gambling is still active in the country at this time.
In Argentina, legal land-based casinos and horse racing betting organizations, lottery ticket locations, and betting shops are allowed to operate depending on the region.
Game operators in Argentina are restricted to less populated cities. However, if they host gambling in other populated areas, the operators will be prosecuted by law and the sites will be blocked.
However, since the end of 2018, the City of Buenos Aires and the Province of Buenos Aires have had looser regulations on online games and a partnership agreement has been put in place.
Gambling-related advertisements are allowed only when the operator has been authorized by the authorities and is subject to advertising and marketing regulations. Many jurisdictions in Argentina require gambling advertisements to include warnings about the level of risk in games.
Some memorable milestones in Argentine gambling history include:
In 1882: The Jockey Club in Argentina was formed, making horse racing betting become very popular at that time;
In 1979: A specialized system for sports betting was established;
In 1876: The world-famous Palermo Racecourse in the City of Buenos Aires opens;
In 2002: The first Argentina-based land-based casino established as Casino Sur, under the Casino del Norte group;
In 2006: First licensed online sports betting organization in Argentina;
In 2008: International online casinos were not allowed to apply for a license, cause them to be blocked in Argentina. However, the unlicensed online casinos still function properly;
In 2016: New law introduced including measures to help gambling addicts in Argentina;
In 2017: The gambling market in Argentina earned 13.6 billion euros;
In 2019: The gambling industry in Argentina has made great regulatory progress in major counties here;
In 2020: The Covid-19 epidemic has a major impact on the gambling entertainment on the mainland. Casinos, betting shops, and lottery ticket sales in Argentina must close. Due to the impact of the epidemic, it is likely that the Province of Buenos Aires will grant licenses to online casinos, and the City of Buenos Aires is also making a similar move.
At online casinos, they all offer reliable and highly secure payment transactions for players from Argentina, including:
Debit and credit cards are the most popular payment methods and are used the most by Argentine bettors.
Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, and Trustly are increasingly popular at Argentina online casinos. The big feature of e-wallets is that players will be kept private of their personal information and transactions will be hidden.
Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, etc., are increasingly popular, and most online casinos accept payments in cryptocurrencies. Similar to digital wallets, sending money with cryptocurrency also has an anonymity feature. Don't forget to opt for reputable and licensed online casinos to secure BTC-related transactions and other payment methods.
