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Buenos Aires provincial gambling regulator Gonzalo Atanasof has urged lawmakers to strengthen action against illegal online gambling, warning that unauthorised platforms operate beyond state oversight and allow minors to place bets. His intervention came as provincial legislators examined proposals to tighten online gambling safeguards.
Atanasof, president of the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos (IPLyC), addressed the provincial Chamber of Deputies’ Gambling, Lottery and Gambling Addiction Prevention Committee, chaired by Micaela Olivetto. Legislators from several political blocs attended the meeting, along with senior IPLyC officials responsible for gambling operations, legal affairs, and systems.
“Today, 80% of online gambling takes place on illegal sites, and that is where we have the main problem,” Atanasof said, according to a regulator statement published on October 20. He said these platforms were not regulated by the state and permitted underage access. The statement did not explain how it calculated the estimate.
Atanasof described the situation as a “perfect storm”, linking the expansion of digital platforms and constant connectivity with the economic crisis and transforming consumer habits. He argued that enforcement authorities needed specific tools to deal with complex operations frequently based outside Argentina.
“We are facing a complex crime, with structures that regularly operate from abroad and that require specific tools to be detected and dismantled,” he said.
Distinguishing between authorised and unauthorised platforms, Atanasof said provincially licensed operators must fulfil stringent identity-verification requirements intended to prevent minors from accessing them. He cited biometric validation, sworn declarations and cross-checks with the National Registry of Persons, RENAPER.
The legislative debate includes a proposal promoted by Olivetto and fellow provincial deputy Facundo Tignanelli. According to reporting on the proposed text, it would introduce real-time facial biometric verification, session limits, advertising restrictions and a prohibition on bonuses and other customer-acquisition incentives. It also proposes a specialised prosecutor’s office targeting illegal online betting.
Atanasof likewise highlighted the economic consequences of clandestine gambling and the shift from land-based venues to digital platforms, citing employment effects and differences in tax obligations and regulatory controls.
He outlined prevention work undertaken through the province’s interministerial body for preventing and treating problem gambling. Calling the exchange “highly productive”, he said it could mark the beginning of efforts to secure additional enforcement tools and improve results.
