Santa Fe legalises iGaming

Jake Graves December 18, 2023

The Senate of the Argentine province of Santa Fe has passed an online gambling bill without change to the legislation initially approved by the Chamber of Deputies. Once signed into law by the newly elected governor, the province will join numerous other populous jurisdictions within Argentina with fully regulated online gambling markets such as Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Córdoba. The bill will establish regulations for games of chance, sports betting, and predictions in digital formats, along with setting up a licensing system similar to that of other provinces.

During the pandemic, Santa Fe allowed online gaming exclusively through licenced brick-and-mortar casinos with three venues in the City Centre Rosario, Casino Melincué, and Casino Puerto Santa Fe, granted the ability to offer online casino games in 2020. Governor Maximiliano Pullaro led the campaign for the new legislation allowing the three aforementioned casinos to obtain additional licences for sports betting and casino games.

During the pandemic, this move was met with more than a little controversy and even generated a complaint from then-deputy Pullaro who claimed the move made via gubernatorial decree was illegal.

Taxation

The tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR) will be set at at least 15 percent with the executive branch handed powers to adjust this without legislative approval. The tax revenue will be split with half the funds allocated to gambling addiction awareness campaigns.

The Santa Fe lottery will be allowed to develop its own online gaming platform and a new licence tender will be established in order to process applications for entities that do not already possess a licence.

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