The purpose behind the recent authorization of electronic payments such as debit cards in casinos, bingo halls and similar locations in Buenos Aires is to minimize tax evasion and money laundering. While the purpose seems lofty enough, experts fear the unwanted side effect of problem gambling, according to SBC Americas.
Through a measure from the Provincial Institute of Lotteries and Casinos, the regulator of Buenos Aires repealed a 2016 provision that prohibited the use of such payments. The measure garnered the support of the Federal Administration of Public Income, the national tax agency, which believes gambling is a “recreation service.”
In 2016, the government banned electronic payments inside gaming halls to “discourage any measure that facilitates money to continue betting without controls.”
Roberto “Chucho” Páez, secretary of the Association of Casino Workers, worries about the link to problem gambling.
“Last week, I got in touch with the lottery authorities because we’re concerned. In the past, a program was put into place to take care of the people in the Province with gambling addiction,” Páez said. He acknowledged that “there is a demand” among users to have more payment methods beyond cash and announced that there will be “a new meeting with the authorities to have more details” about the issue.
The resolution only refers to the authorization of transactions with debit cards, only reversing the prohibition of this method. The ban remains when it comes to credit cards, ATMs, checks, and personal loans.
