While, a couple of weeks ago, through Resolution No. 1173-IPLYCMJGM-2021, published in the Official Bulletin, the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires (Argentina) had given the approval for “the commercialization of the variant of the game Family Lottery, Giant Family Lottery or Bingo, called ‘Remote Concurrent Bingo’ in the Province’s Bingo rooms, operated from a central location for remote and/or local bettors,” now, progress is being made with iGaming in this outstanding jurisdiction of Argentina, which has 17 million inhabitants.
The authorities of the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos (IPLyC) of Buenos Aires, an entity headed by Omar Galdurralde, decided to sign four of the seven licenses granted to start offering online gambling in that territory.
The four licensed operators (each composed of a local and an international partner) could start the activity imminently. They are the following ones:
1) William Hill (includes local partner Bingo Moreno and British partner William Hill)
2) Bplay (the important Argentine firm Boldt and the foreign firm 888)
3) Bet365 (Bingo Berazategui and bet365)
4) BetWarrior (Binbaires and the Greek company Intralot)
According to the granted authorization, these companies “are already in a position to sign the respective agreement that will formalize the relationship with this Institute.” To reach this instance, they passed a process that included a series of patrimonial and legal accreditations. In tax terms, according to Resolution 795, each Licensee paid $5.5 million (USD 56,700) at the time of filing and must pay $65 million (USD 670,000) as a single fixed charge. In addition, once they start operating, the licensees must pay the fee to operate (10%) and the tax on Gross Income (15%), as well as the rest of the applicable taxes such as a general income tax.
GROUPS THAT WILL OFFER ONLINE GAMING
Among licensed companies, William Hill is one of the largest bookmakers in the world. In Argentina, it is associated with Argenbingo, which operates Bingo Moreno and has 30 years of experience in the sector. For its part, Bplay is a company of the renowned local firm Boldt and the international giant 888. It already operates online in Paraguay and in the province of Santa Fe. Now, Bplay wants to grow stronger in the Province of Buenos Aires, where it already has closed a sponsorship on the Estudiantes de La Plata shirt. Boldt operates casinos in Tigre, Santa Fe, Chile and Uruguay. While the famous bookmaker Bet365, based in the United Kingdom, will work together with the popular “Bingo Begui” from the city of Berazategui. For its part, BetWarrior is a company of the Palermo Racecourse and the Buenos Aires Casino. It has the participation of the Danish firm Shape, which currently operates the Danish lottery, and the Greek group Intralot. Launched three years ago, BetWarrior operates in Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Panama and Uruguay.
Of course, in addition to these four groups already approved to start operating, there are three more authorized companies in the Province of Buenos Aires that have not yet been able to sign their respective licenses: Playtech with Casino Tandil; Pokerstars with Bingo Chivilcoy, and Betsson with Casino Victoria.
It should be remembered that, through Law No. 15.079, the provincial legislature had regulated the activity of online gambling in its different modalities, granting up to seven licenses for a period of fifteen years. This public process had been initiated in 2019 during the Government of Maria Eugenia Vidal. In parallel, progress was also made in this regard in the City of Buenos Aires, where, before the end of this year, online gambling would begin to operate. The aforementioned companies are seeking to obtain licenses in the City, as well as, among others, Codere, which is already sponsoring the River Plate football club T-shirt.