Published: December 6, 2018

Argentina: Buenos Aires Province gets green light to regulate online gambling

The governor of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, María Eugenia Vidal, already has green light to move forward with the enabling of online gaming. The Legislature approved the law that normalizes this type of betting, and now lawmakers will be asked to vote on the executive’s 2019 Budget plan which will include approval for online gambling in Argentina’s largest province.

The proposals were originally put forward last month but the Buenos Aires executive is now planning to put the key articles 142 and 143 to a vote. The law creates two new taxes on the gaming sector: one for online gaming that until now was not regulated and therefore not taxed, and the other (2%) will be the tax on the prize or winning bets that will be taken from the slot machines.

On all the prizes resulting from the successive bets slots, will be allocated: "7% to the totality of the municipalities of the Province of Buenos Aires, according to the Single Distribution Coefficient (CUD), and 3% the communes that have in their territory with gamingrooms, according to CUD."

Regarding online gambling, the Tax Law 2019 regulates in its articles 142 and 143 the modalities included, of "casino games - table games and automated electronic gaming machines - sports betting, lotteries and those defined by regulation” made online.

The gross profits produced by online games (the difference between the total amount paid, discounting the payment of prizes) will be distributed 8% to General Income, to attend actions inherent to education, promotion and social assistance, as determined by the Executive Power; and the remaining percentage for the operator, after deduction of the fee that is later fixed in the regulations.

The project had generated resistance within Cambiemos legislators (the government political party), however the pressure made by the Executive invoking the need of the project for the provincial accounts was categorical. The legislators of Vidal complied with the order and voted without complaint. Until hours before it was speculated that some would rise from the seats at the time of the vote. None of that happened and Buenos Aires’ governor got green light to move on with the project.

https://www.gamesbras.com/english-version/2018/12/5/buenos-aires-province-gets-green-light-to-regulate-online-gambling-10776.html