An Argentine plan to tax deposits at online gambling sites made through credit and debit cards has backfired with the country bringing in no revenue in 2017.
According to CDCgamingreports.com, a 2 percent tax put into place at the beginning of 2017 was supposed to be collected at source by credit- and debit-card issuers from deposits made with Argentina-facing online gambling operators, regardless of where that operator was based. Argentine officials hoped to raise about $51 million.
A recent government report, however, said no revenue at all was collected from the tax as internationally licensed online operators encouraged Argentine players to use other deposit methods than credit cards. The report said Argentine provincially-run online sites also resisted the tax.
Seven Argentine provinces have authorized some form of intra-province online gambling. Two other provinces have launched their own state-run gambling sites—Tucumán’s Pálpitos24.com.ar and San Luis’ Jugadón.com—while the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro allowed land-based casinos within their borders to launch online casino sites, the report said.
The provincial sites have dodged the tax by allowing gamblers to fund their accounts with provincially issued physical and virtual prepaid cards, CDC Gaming Reports said.
