Argentina: A fragmented landscape

In the shadow of the recently regulated Brazilian landscape lies the geographically neighboring market of Argentina. Indeed, Argentina is a nation that yields a rich cultural history of gambling, as well as a global cultural and economic influence that is both sizable and stable. Despite this, it is one of the few large nations across the LatAm region that sees gambling remain unregulated.

Coming out of 2024, the gambling landscape across South America was one that would have been unrecognizable compared to a few years prior, even without the opening of the Brazilian iGaming and sports betting markets. The recent establishment of the Peruvian and Chilean markets, alongside the continued maturation of the Colombia and Mexico, have helped mould the region into a growing powerhouse with undeniable upward potential. Now, the addition of gargantuan Brazil has been piled on top of an already busy plate – and everyone in gaming wants a slice.

The history

When unpicking the further reaches of gambling history across the globe, the invention of the printing press in 1440 is a development too prevalent to ignore due to its role in the popularization of playing cards. It was a development, though, that was also closely trailed the following century in 1502 by the arrival of the Spanish in what is now recognised as modern-day Argentina, bringing, among many things, the practice of gambling with them.

Wagering in some form or other can almost certainly be traced back much, much further in time – yet something that is well-documented from the Middle Ages was the early Spanish colonials’ passion for gambling. This passion most likely stemmed from the aforementioned invention of the printing press in Germany, as it allowed the lower classes access to items such as playing cards and, within a short time, many members of all social classes of society were engaging with dominos, roulette, dice & card games and more. Men of arms had a particular penchant for gambling, especially as a way of settling debts.

One card game that was especially popular among Spaniards in Latin America was Truco – in which violent outcomes were highly common due to instances of cheating, so much so that it eventually led to the prohibition of games of chance.

It is theorized that this is, perhaps, one of the reasons why games of chance have become so popular in Argentina over the years. Regardless of its origins, grand casino sites were erected across cities such as Buenos Aires throughout the 20th century – sparking a casino culture that stuck within the nation. However, like all other Latin American nations, Argentina is also soccer-obsessed and a keen interest in sports betting runs rife across the country.

The modern landscape

In more recent history, Argentina has seemingly continued to analyze the idea of fully regulating its gambling market nationwide, without any meaningful developments in the area. 2014 saw Argentina’s gambling regulator, Asociación de Loterías, Quinielas y Casinos Estatales de Argentina (ALEA), review its legal framework within the nation and, despite multiple proposals of both online gaming a sports betting frameworks being submitted, efforts were unsuccessful at this time.

Not much has changed in the 11 years following this development, with gambling regulation still being conducted at state level, creating a fragmented network of vastly differing legislative frameworks across the country. Despite a lack of major change in Argentina, progress is still (slowly) being made, with iGaming currently being regulated in 15 of its 24 provinces.

The capital province of Buenos Aires also legalized online gambling in 2018 in a move that further cemented its standing as the dominant gambling hub of the nation. Still, regulation within this segment of the country remains complex – as Buenos Aires City yields a separate framework and regulatory body to the wider province.

The most likely more desirable and more costly city license lasts for five years and comes with a 10% tax rate on GGR – complete with a $30,000 license processing fee, $100,000 fixed annual licensing fee and $2m “compliance guarantee.” This license regulates forms of gambling including online casino, poker, bingo, sports betting and lottery – an identical list to that of which is regulated by the cheaper provincial license, which comes complete with an annual fixed fee of $75,000 and a tax rate of 25%.

2019 saw the decriminalization of iGaming nationwide and allowed for the opening of the practice in additional provinces, although a lack of legislative harmonization across Argentina is now starting to cause issues within the market with underage gambling being a focus point of concern. Indeed, a report published out of Buenos Aires in late 2023 highlighted that nearly a quarter of local students aged between 12 and 19 had engaged with online gambling.

The issue of underage gambling was one that continued to proliferate within the nation throughout 2024 and eventually sparked action from the Argentine chamber of deputies, who approved the nationwide prohibition of online betting advertisements. The federal bill – which would prohibit online operators from sponsoring sports teams or athletes – now sits before the Senate.

During the same month, the province of San Juan approved a comprehensive law to regulate online gambling. These two separate and perhaps juxtaposing pieces of legislation both aim to combat the growing issue of underage online gambling in Argentina. They also aim to tackle the high usage of illegal sites that, according to Deputy Silvana Giudici, are utilized by of 78% of bettors in the nation.

The nation’s capital

Being the fourth-most populous Latin American country, with only Colombia, Mexico and Brazil being higher, Argentina boasts a modern infrastructure and significant cultural influence on a global scale. Many of its 45 million residents have access to mobile phones and the internet – a fact which, alongside a large and growing middle class, is well represented by high engagement figures with online gambling.

Moreover, despite Colombia yielding a slightly higher population, Argentina’s GDP is almost double that of Colombia’s outpaced by only Mexico and Brazil in the LatAm region. This, combined with a fierce soccer fanaticism and keen online gambling interest, highlights the fact that the infrastructure for a thriving gambling ecosystem is undoubtedly present in Argentina. The issue is a lack of cohesion – something that the implementation of a single, centralized regulator for the nation would almost certainly be able to remedy. Nevertheless, Brazil’s sizable neighbor looks as though it will be remaining dormant for the time being.

Will Underwood

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