Argentina Trade Association Seeks to Make Online Gambling a Regulated Market

In efforts to alleviate the congested online gambling system in Argentina, a non-profit association intends to provide assistance in regulating the market.

The Board of the Association of Lotteries, Pools and Casinos (ALEA) is ready to submit a proposal that would see the regulation of online gambling sites in Argentina. ALEA is a non-profit organization that behaves as “an advisory body on regulation, modernization and optimization of resources at the federal level.”

Argentina’s 23 provinces have the right to regulate different forms of gambling, while the autonomous city of Buenos Aires has 24 authorities that offer gambling services. The overall structure of operating the lucrative business is considered to be too complicated, so ALEA wants to improve the system and make it run more smoothly.

ALEA plans to make things easier for gambling providers

The association intends to put a stop on unlicensed gambling providers by creating a strict and formal system. “In order to counteract the supply of illegal gambling, which, it should be noted, makes no contribution to the community welfare.”

The South American country first had a licensed site open in 2002. Casino del Norte S.A. created a site that was powered by CryptoLogic software. Since 2006, a total of four gaming licenses have been approved by the provinces.

The majority of online poker sites in Argentina are held in the hands of overseas gambling firms, however the nation’s economic problems prohibit players making US dollar deposits when playing. Argentina is lacking sufficient US dollars, and has decided to impose an exchange rate that varies up to 60% from the illegal market rate.