The government of Buenos Aires has announced a plan to change its online gaming regulations and also restart the bidding process for iGaming licenses.
According to the proposal, operators who hold land-based licenses would be allowed to bid for an iGaming license.
“Illegal gambling is five times worse than what it was at the beginning of the pandemic, so we need to regulate” the market, according to a government statement. The proposals also are seen as a way to safeguard land-based casinos, which closed their doors in mid-March and have yet to reopen.
According to SBC Americas, the Puerto Madero Casino and the Hipódromo de Palermo have asked to take part in the bidding, while official lottery agencies also want to get in on the new industry.
The proposed regulation would add a “clean record” requirement to exclude “people with criminal records or in trial for crimes such as human trafficking, terrorism or drug, human or gun trafficking, or laundering of assets or for crimes included in the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption” from the bidding process.
