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Buenos Aires has promised its residents online gambling ever since it legalized online gambling in 2018.
However, the process to get the online gambling market up and running has taken a long time. If things go as per plan, Buenos Aires should have its iGaming market up and running by the end of 2021 latest.
Buenos Aires, which is the capital of Argentina, has a population of over 17 million people. iGaming operators are keen to get their operations up and running and tap into this market. When Buenos Aires announced in 2020 that they would start to receive license applications, a number of gaming operators submitted their applications.
The Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casino (IPLyC) confirmed that a total of 14 iGaming license applications were received. The IPLyC took its time to review all of the applications in detail and announced on 31 Dec 2020 that they had approved 7 applications and rejected the other 7. They did not disclose clear reasons as to why 7 applications were rejected.
Regulations made it mandatory for all operators to partner with a local establish to be eligible for an iGaming license. The first four operators that had their licenses approved include Cassava Enterprises Gibraltar who partnered with 888Holdings; Casino de Victoria which tied up with the Betsson Group; Atlántica de Juegos y Stars Interactive Limited who partnered with Flutter Plc and Binbaires SA who partnered with Intralot SA.
The remaining three operators include ArgenBingo BA who partnered with William Hill; Hotel Casino Tandil who joined up with Playtech Plc; Pasteko SA and Hillside Media Malta who teamed up with bet365.
These seven operators who had their licenses approved will now have to pay out $773,000 to be able to offer iGaming services in Buenos Aires.
Approval Process Must Be Investigated
Some of the operators that did not get license approval include top Spanish operators Codere and Luckia. BetCris which is popular in Latin America also had its application denied. The Technical Evaluation Commission was the agency that made the final decision on rejecting these applications.
Coalición Cívica ARI, a political party in Argentina is calling for the license regulation process to be investigated as they suspect that something underhand has taken place. One reason for this is because two individuals with ties to the licensing process are being investigated for corruption.
