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Argentina – Buenos Aires Governor back tracks over instants

By - 21 April 2016

Bowing to pressure from members of the opposition parties and the church, the Governor of Buenos Aires province María Eugenia Vidal has decided to backtrack over instant quiniela which would have been available in , betting agencies.

By resolution the Head of Lottery and Casinos, Meliton Lopez has annulled the decision to bring back instants tickets which were first allowed under the leadership of ex Governor Daniel Scioli.
In the resolution, which was made public this week, the government acknowledged that: “The implementation of this variant of gaming has raised some concerns from certain people in the media.” Instants had met strong opposition from church groups as well as members of opposition parties who claimed that they promote gambling addiction. Critics argued that the game mechanics in instants are inherently linked to addiction as unlike traditional lottery tickets the player does not have to wait before learning the outcome of their bet.

The re launch of instant quiniela was driven by lottery interest group The Chamber of Lottery Outlets in the Province of Buenos Aires (CAOLAB). In addition to raising revenue, those who were in favour of endorsing instants saw them as a means of giving the industry a way of competing more equally with slot machines which have grown at a fast rate in bingo halls in the province. They would also have helped combat illegal gaming.

Gustavo O’Connor President of Caolab said: “The President of the Lottery made the decision to restore instants, but unfortunately he did not have the support of Governor Vidal, who could use the money from this game to improve hospitals, security and education in the province.” He also said that the main purpose of the new game was to combat illegal gaming and that only three games would have been permitted per instant ticket.

Instants are a controversial issue in Argentina. Daniel Scioli implemented them for a brief spell in 2014 but was criticised by members of the opposition as well as members of church groups and organisations aimed at combating gambling addiction. As a result the games were removed from the market.

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