ARGENTINA – Mendoza Senate approves online gambling regulation
Proposed regulations will create control system for care and protection of users
The Upper house of the province of Mendoza endorsed a proposal that was presented by Senator Mercedes Rus, who included another proposal by senator Marcelo Rubio, seeking to regulate the online gaming activity in its different modalities.
The bill was passed by 36 votes in favour against one vote and has been sent to the House of Representatives for review. In her exposition, Senator Rus reported that proposals from various political groups were available in the Legislative Secretariat, and that the objective of the project is to establish a regulatory framework for online gaming in the province.
“What is important is that the proposal to control online gaming is under way. We want to subject online gaming operators to state control and also to the appropriate certification that are established internationally,” Senator Rus said, adding: The intension is to know which platforms these services can offer to the Province and also to know who is behind these platforms. We must state that the licensing system should be limited.”
The proposed regulations will create a control system to care of and protection of users, reducing the risk of gambling addiction. In particular, the objective is to regulate an activity that actually already exists, but which is operated illegally.
In addition, it has been proposed that “online” gaming is any game of chance in any format, random combinations, bets on real and general events, lotteries, and any activity in which amounts of money or economically evaluable objects are at risk on future and uncertain results, regardless of whether skills or skill of the participant or player prevails in them, or are exclusively or mainly of luck or chance, and any which one as established by the regulations; carried out by electronic, computer, telematics, interactive or future means in this regard.
Excluded in the comprehensive proposals are games that include live draws, such as lotteries, pools or quinielas and tombolas, amongst others, which will be governed by the regulations in force, even if the use of Electronic Collection Systems is used for its marketing.
The project proposes replacement of regulator body, Instituto Provincial de Juegos y Casinos, and the body that replaces it in the future will be in charge of authorizing persons, natural or legal, to organize, develop, exploit, accept bets and market the activity of the online gaming.
