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Legislation

Argentina – Buenos Aires to cut state subsidies to horse racing to zero

By - 26 February 2018

The Governor of the province of Buenos Aires María Eugenia Vidal has announced that she will cut subsidies to horse racing tracks.

During an official ceremony, Vidal said: “We are going to present a project so that this subsidy reaches zero, and we will present it on March 1, when the legislative sessions of this year begins.”

The government of the Province of Buenos Aires will reduce subsidies for horse racing by as much as $300m per year in its first phase. The Executive branch will present a bill to revise article 29 of Law 13,253 that earmarks the subsidy to the horse racing industry.

It is the government’s position that horse racing in the province of Buenos Aires has its own revenue sources such as betting, as well as simulating sales abroad. However, for more than ten years, the province of Buenos Aires has subsidised the activity of racetracks and subsidised different trade associations.

In 2017 alone, the government allocated $1,000m to the sector, a figure that year after year is increasing and it is estimated to stand $1,300m in 2018. In this context, Vidal confirmed that the Executive branch had decided, “to cut the subsidy to $300m, which is the minimum that the law allows us to give to the sector. We will also send a bill to the legislature of the Province so that this subsidy will be reduced to zero. We will do so when the legislative sessions of this year opens,” she said.

“With the $1000m that we gave (to horse racing ) in 2017, we could have put in place 30 public emergency clinics, built 1000 homes or constructed 120 kilometres of road. These are the priorities of the Province. This is part of a policy that started from the first day to combat illegal gambling and to restrict legal gambling in the Province. We recently announced the closure of three casinos and a bingo. This has been our policy. We have had a very clear position when it comes to illegal and legal gaming.”

In 2005, the government created the Horse Racing Improvement Fund in order to give the sector a boost in the face of the proliferation of slot machines. Five per cent of the amount generated by slots in the capital goes to the fund, while 34 per cent goes to the coffers of the province of Buenos Aires. In turn, according to Provincial Law No. 13.253, the government must allocate through the Provincial Institute of Lotteries and Casinos (IPLyC) between nine per cent and 15 per cent to the four racetracks in the province since they do not generate their own profits. At the racetracks, 60 per cent goes to the prize pool and the rest to operating expenses and infrastructure.

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