Gambling in Argentina is regulated on a province-by-province basis, with each jurisdiction having the powers to legislate within its own borders. Most of its 23 provinces have regulated online gambling, while the capital, Buenos Aires, is designated an autonomous city.
This provincial regulatory framework is rooted in Argentina’s Constitution, with gambling not one of the areas delegated to the federal government by Article 121. For Ramiro Atucha, founder and CEO of Atucha Strategic Advisory, the “best thing” would be for Argentina to unify regulation and allow operators to operate nationwide.
However, it is clear that any progress towards a federal framework is restricted by the Constitution. The last major modifications to the Constitution were made in 1994, when 43 articles were amended.
“It’s going to be a challenging one unless there’s a strong national decision to unify this and bring everyone to the table and force some hands into unifying something,” Atucha tells iGB. “With all the things that Argentina still needs to fix, I don’t see this as being a priority.”
The rise of collaboration in Argentina
But while there haven’t been concrete movements towards a national framework, Buenos Aires City Lottery Director Ezequiel Dominguez says regulators are collaborating to find common ground. “There are spaces for dialogue and exchanges among regulators, where experiences are shared and common criteria are sought, especially in light of the advancing digital environment,” he says.
Agustín Li Gambi is director general of legal affairs at the Neuquén Provincial Institute of Gambling, while also serving as president of the Association of State Lotteries and Casinos of Argentina and as a member of CIBELAE’s Legal Affairs Committee. He echoes Dominguez’s sentiment, stating the ‘real national framework’ is found in this increased collaboration.
CIBELAE is an official branch of the World Lottery Association for 80 Hispanic American speaking countries.
“Rather than a federal legislative framework, what we have seen is unprecedented progress in institutional cooperation,” Li Gambi explains. “Today, we work in coordination with national agencies such as the National Communications Authority (ENACOM) for website blocking, and with the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) to limit illegal payment gateways, among others.”
Is decentralisation a strength, rather than a weakness?
While operators often lament the patchwork quilt that is Argentina’s gambling regulatory framework, it is clear the current model does work on many fronts. For instance, Li Gambi believes that while the province-by-province system requires constant coordination through organisations such as ALEA (state lotteries association), it has also allowed each jurisdiction to adjust the offering to its own social and economic reality.
According to him, there is “broad consensus” among provincial regulators against federal regulation. “Far from being an obstacle, this decentralisation ensures that oversight remains local, close and effective,” Li Gambi says. “Provincial regulators understand that no one knows the territory and the needs of its population better than the provinces themselves.
“Furthermore, the revenues generated are directly invested into local projects. Delegating authority to a national body would centralise resources and distance oversight from the actual points of conflict.”
H2 Gambling Capital estimates Argentina’s total gambling gross win in 2025 was $5.03 billion. This makes it H2’s 23rd biggest global market.
Dominguez also disagrees that gambling in Argentina is being held back by its regulatory system. “Within this framework, there has been significant progress in recent years, especially in the development of online gambling, with increasingly stringent standards regarding control, identity verification, transparency and responsible gambling tools,” he points out.
“The challenge today is not so much the lack of regulation, but rather continuing to strengthen control and adaptation mechanisms in the face of a constantly evolving digital environment.”
What problems does the current regulatory system pose?
But the system is certainly challenging from an operational point of view, with regulations varying across the provinces despite the enhanced collaboration. As Atucha points out, it is particularly challenging for international brands looking to make their mark in Argentina.
“The most interesting one, which is the Province of Buenos Aires, obliges [operators] to have a local partner,” Atucha says. “So they need to get in bed with people that they don’t know, that have been running physical casinos for a long time.
“It’s challenging for international operators to enter Argentina. Mostly, I would say because of the state-by-state system, but also on the fact that they need to find a local partner to share the licence with.”
There are also vast differences in the size of the provinces. As Atucha highlights, the Province of Buenos Aires is by far the biggest, accounting for approximately 40% of Argentina’s population. He compares it to the state-by-state regulation seen in the US, stating: “If you’re having a challenge in the US with certain states that are not big enough, imagine Argentina.
“In Argentina, you probably have five states that can generate a return on investment. The rest, unless you’ve got something more global, it’s more challenging.”
Are international operators put off?
While Dominguez acknowledges operational complexities, he doesn’t believe international companies are necessarily put off by the regulatory framework. “Companies that operate globally are accustomed to interacting with different regulatory models and understand that they must adapt to the rules of each market,” he says.
“Argentina is an attractive market due to its size and potential, but it also demands high compliance standards. Far from being a barrier, this is a positive sign for operators seeking sustainable and legal development.”
Li Gambi highlights one particularly negative impact of the fragmented system, in that bettors can sometimes be misled through advertising as to which sites are legal in their province. ALEA has tried to combat this by promoting tools such as the ‘.bet.ar’ domain, which can only be utilised by legal operators.
But despite the fragmentation, Li Gambi suggests operators in fact benefit from the legal certainty of the current framework.
“The requirement for operators to obtain jurisdictional licences guarantees that they are entering a market with clear rules and solid agreements with sovereign provincial states,” he says. “Argentina remains one of the most attractive markets in the region due to its size and the high level of professionalism among its regulators. International companies seeking long-term sustainability value a system where legality is not in question.”
Illegal gambling an issue uniting everyone
What Atucha, Dominguez and Li Gambi all agree on is the need for coordination against what is largely seen as the biggest threat to gambling, the illegal market.
Atucha estimates illegal operators make up around 60% of the total market, going against the progress made on the licensed side of improved mechanisms to fight underage gambling. He believes regulators should be judged on the prominence of the black market within their jurisdiction, claiming policymakers often respond to pressure by targeting operators on the right side of the law.
In Dominguez’s view, it again comes down to greater cooperation between provincial regulators. “The main challenge is coordination, especially in the face of phenomena such as illegal online gambling, which does not recognise jurisdictional boundaries,” he says.
“This implies the need for regulators to coordinate, share information and work together. It is not so much a structural weakness, but rather a characteristic of the system that requires greater cooperation to be effective.”
Li Gambi believes ‘significant progress’ has been made to combat the illegal market in Argentina, through initiatives such as the agreement signed between ALEA and Meta, which paves the way for the removal of Facebook and Instagram profiles promoting illegal gambling.
Further progress has been enabled by coordination between institutions, with several jurisdictions penning agreements with their Public Prosecutor’s offices. “This combination of agreements with technology platforms and the strengthening of local justice systems is enabling us to act with a speed we did not previously have, reducing the operational capacity of illegal operators,” Li Gambi comments.
Cooperative federalism in Argentina
According to Li Gambi, there are frequent debates between Argentinian politicians about whether the country should adopt a unified regulatory framework for gambling. However, “the legal reality is clear” to him. “A unified national law would require either a constitutional reform or a delegation of powers that the provinces are not willing to surrender,” Li Gambi says.
“The real political focus today lies in cooperative federalism – that is, working together to combat illegal gambling and unify standards without losing autonomy over resources, which are allocated to social purposes within each province.”
Another obstacle to a unified framework that Atucha emphasises is the public perception of gambling in Argentina. This, he suggests, feeds into politicians’ views on limiting how much gambling there is in Argentina, something that’s currently happening in nearby Brazil, where the president has voiced his intention to ban betting.
“No politician wants to be seen as favouring this industry, sadly,” Atucha says. “Even when favouring this industry means collecting more taxes, protecting the players better and reducing the black market.
“Brazil is having the same problem. About 30% of their voters are defined by the evangelical church. So, you see [President] Lula from the left and the Bolsonaros from the right trying to win the favour of these voters, and that comes by attacking the gambling industry.”
Unified framework unrealistic, at least for now
Atucha’s ideal national framework for Argentina would be one regulation that doesn’t affect the capacity of provinces to collect their taxes. Atucha has offered the government help and advice on the matter, particularly when it comes to a tax system that he feels is holding back the market.
“Right now in Argentina, you’ve got national tax, you’ve got the VAT, you’ve got the profit, you’ve got the municipal, the provincial [taxes],” he concludes. “It’s a mess in terms of taxes. [A federal framework] would allow unification on that. And again, if that’s done properly, that’s the main way to limit unregulated operators.”
But while Atucha is pushing for a unified framework, the reality is that it looks unlikely, at least in the short term. With a federal framework looking a distant prospect, for now the Argentinian gambling sector looks set to continue in the same vein of steady growth, improvements in player protection and the utilisation of cooperative federalism to fight the common goal of the black market.
Kyle Goldsmith
Kyle has been with Clarion since December 2023, joining from the world of sports journalism, subsequently becoming a LatAm-facing senior reporter with iGB.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/regulation/federal-gambling-regulation-argentina/
