The gobernments of the City and the Province of Buenos Aires want online gaming to start as soon as possible. They need to add income to the public treasury after the crisis generated by the pandemic, on top of inflation and social crisis.

The owners of the floating casino have started to move on. Promoters receive bettors as soon as they enter the casino, and invite them to registrate. But, How much money might online betting generate? Some of them affirm it could be around US$ 10 million annually in the country. Others say it would reach US$ 600 million, of which just a percentage would be allocated to the local governments.

Other 12 provinces in Argentina have already approved online gaming legislation: Tucumán, Entre Ríos, San Luis, Santa Cruz, La Pampa, Chaco, Misiones, Neuquén and Río Negro, on top of Santa Fe, Mendoza and Corrientes since pandemic.

However, the two most wanted districts will work, at first, as closed niches. It means that people from Buenos Aires will only be enabled to bet in Buenos Aires, and the same happens with the people in the City of Buenos Aires.

The law 15.079 allows licensees for 15 years. Each license includes a local and a foreign partner. Those are: William Hill (“ArgentBingo”, in charge of Bingo Moreno), Bet365 (Bingo Berezategui and Bet365), Playtech (Casino de Tandil and Dynamo Tyche), Bplay (Boldt and 888), BetWarrior (Binbaires and Intralot), Betsson (Casino Victoria and Grupo Bettson) and Pokerstars (Atlántica de Juegos, in charge of Bingo de Chivilcoyand  Stars Interactive Limited).

Behind those commercial names there are some of the biggest local players, among them, Federico de Achával and Ricardo Benedicto (Binbaires), Antonio Tabanelli (Boldt), Daniel Mautone (Casino Victoria) or Daniel Angelici (Atlántica de Juegos).

“What is going to happen to the net profits of foreign companies? Will they be able to dollarize them? Will we be able to transfer royalties to the headquarters of our partners? ", Explained one of the businessmen aware of the deliberations that are taking place at this time and that, according to him, could delay the online start" until next year. "

In the city of Buenos Aires, the situation is similar, but different. Among other reasons, due to the legal structure that governs that district. Thus, the Buenos Aires Legislature also sanctioned a law in September 2020, but the City Lottery did not grant licenses, but "precarious use permits" for five years, without setting a maximum number of permit holders.

So far, the City is advancing with seven "permits", although the number may increase since both those who obtained licenses in the province and those who lost in that bid want a slice of Buenos Aires. This is the case of Codere, the Spanish giant that was left out of the Buenos Aires online business, but entered the Buenos Aires district like Boldt, Betsson, Ibiza, Upline, Betway and Ondiss.

Both in La Plata and in Buenos Aires they also agree that it is a matter of time and pragmatism. “Underground online gambling became very, very strong in the province during the pandemic. So here it is not a matter of debating whether we enable online gambling, but rather of figuring out how we do it ”, they indicated together with Kicillof.

From the Buenos Aires Lottery led by Martín García Santillán they offer examples of secrecy. Only during the last few years, they denounced before the Justice the existence of more than 950 illegal websites that allowed clandestine online gambling so that, through the Enacom, they would block them.

Pending instrumentation
The arrival of Martín Insaurralde to the head of the Cabinet upset the balance of power. The bingueros consider it extremely “trustworthy”, almost their own. And it is in the Buenos Aires district where they give an example of the challenges they must solve. The National Directorate for Internet Domain Registration (nic.ar), dependent on the Presidency, grants "bet.ar" domains. And it will be sought that the people of Buenos Aires can only bet on the websites that end with this mode of the enabled companies, blocking the rest.

It is also in the process of implementing how it will be verified that whoever claims to live in the province of Buenos Aires actually lives in that district. "We will do it with the Renaper", they indicated from Buenos Aires Lottery, alluding to the National Registry of Persons.
From the Buenos Aires Lottery they aim, instead, at the geolocation of users. The “permit holders” must have systems that allow them to determine if the potential gambler is located in the city of Buenos Aires, regardless of their registered address with Renaper.

Beyond those instrumental differences, however, the premise is that both districts exit at the same time. Also, that they share the same technical parameters to develop a single technological platform to which, in theory, the other provinces could adhere.

In both jurisdictions they argue, unlike their objectors, that online gambling would allow bettors to be more controlled and limit the risks of gambling. Why? Because to gamble online you will have to register and "log in", which will allow you to track the length of stay and amounts wagered, and forbid those who are minors, to receive subsidies from the Anses.

In both jurisdictions, they also agree that this is the first step in a process that will record mutations. "Write this down," said a student of the gambling world who asked LA NACION to protect his name. “There will be a very strong dispute between football clubs, online betting companies and those in charge of the television of the matches. The income cake will change completely and they will have to renegotiate the percentages ”.

For now, however, and although some companies already advertise on certain team jerseys, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) or the Professional Football League (LPF) have not yet contacted those responsible for the Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires lotteries. Matter of time.