ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires approves online gaming
Province will tender up to 7 sports betting and online gaming licences
After Province of Buenos Aires Governor María Eugenia Vidal and Argentina President Mauricio Macri, joined by several other legislators, signed a tax law for the country’ s provincial capital, approving the regulation of “on-line” gaming, it was just a matter of time until the law was officially approved by the local Government.
Last week, the Province of Buenos Aires government approved Budget Bill 2019, which includes chapters legalizing Internet betting, stating in Article 142 the approval “in its various modalities, electronic, computer, telematic and interactive, or those that in the future develop, in the area of the province of Buenos Aires, in order to guarantee the protection of public order, to eradicate illegal gambling and to safeguard the rights of the participants of these games, in accordance with the provisions of article 37 of the Provincial Constitution.”
The governing ruling for tendering in online gaming will be determined by the implementing authority and will only grant up to 7 licenses, according to article 148 which reads: “For the exercise of the activities subject to this Chapter it is a prior condition to obtaining official title to operate (such activity). Licences and authorisations are granted by the implementing Authority in accordance with procedures set down in the regulations.”
The signatories of the proposed normative of the Senate and House of Representatives of the province of Buenos Aires state that the Regulation of 170 articles is enabled with full content of the Law, “According to regulations stated in tax Tax Law No. 10,397 (text modified 2011) plus amendments- All set for application in fiscal year 2019, as taxes and levies determined in this Law,” which will govern from January 1, 2019.” According to the budget presented in the legislature, a 15% tax has been included to be paid by the companies providing online gambling and sports betting.
Official estimates from the Finance Ministry in the Province of Buenos Aires, state that the proposed tax rate would bring an additional 2.2 billion Argentine pesos (about US$57.2 million) to the poorly funded needy public coffers in the province, giving María Eugenia Vidal much needed revenue to work with at a time of financial adjustment. Now, the first step is to get the provincial Congress to approve the budget. Following this, the province can advance on tendering to grant up to seven online gaming licenses for sports betting, turf, online and virtual Casino, plus live events.
