Legislation
Argentina – Online gambling bill passes in Córdoba
By Phil - 4 January 2022
The Argentine province of Córdoba has approved an online gambling bill. Lawmakers passed the bill by 46 votes in favour, 17 against and one abstention.
The project was presented by legislators Orlando Arduh, Silvia Paleo, Darío Capitani, Raúl Recalde and Alberto Ambrosio, representatives of the opposition party Juntos por el Cambio. The measure was approved by a large majority, as it also had the support of the ruling party in the province Hacemos por Córdoba . The next step will be the regulation of the proposal by the Executive Power, although the ruling party is already believed to be in favour of the new measure.
If approved the bill will allow for online lotteries, casinos and sports betting by as many as ten operators who will vie for a license via a tender. Licenses will be valid for 15 years, and the Córdoba Lottery may expand the number of operators, if the market grows. Income generated by the newly regulated sector will be divided between a number of different government welfare programs.
Earlier in December lawmaker Córdoba Orlando Arduh put forward the bill which would regulate online gambling. New online rules would follow similar legislation now in place in the city and the province of Buenos Aires. Online gambling is already permitted in the provinces of Mendoza, Santa Fe, Corrientes, Chaco, Misiones, San Luis, Tucumán, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, Neuquén, Río Negro and Santa Cruz. However a group of lawmakers alongside the Catholic and evangelical churches had tried a last minute attempt to block the measure in Córdoba. In a letter the signatories expressed their “deep disagreement with the bill.” In a document delivered to the legislature they asked that the bill be withdrawn from the agenda “in order to give us all an adequate and in-depth debate.”
