Report: LatAM
LAND-BASED, ONLINE AND SPORTS BETTING LATIN AMERICA GAMING
Argentina Despite growing economic uncertainty, Argentina
offers increasing opportunities for foreign investment in the country’s online sector. Interactive gambling is
regulated at a provincial level and there is currently no federal gambling legislation when it comes to online gambling. An increasing number of provinces are changing their gambling laws to allow online gambling.
Opportunities for growth are imminent, not just in Buenos Aires, but in other provinces such as Mendoza. In October 2020, the province of Mendoza approved online gaming legislation and is to grant seven licenses in total. Covid has forced more players to play online and in the face of decreasing land-based revenues, additional provincial governments are expected to move towards allowing for the wider expansion of gaming in the wake of developments in Buenos Aires.
Foreign investment in the online gambling market is now welcome in both the city of Buenos Aires and the province of Buenos Aires. At the end of December, the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos (IPLyC) of Buenos Aires named the seven companies that will legally operate in the province of Buenos Aires (there were 14 applications in all).
Opportunities in Latin America
What are the opportunities and challenges for foreign companies looking to enter the
region and how can they take the initiative to local operators and suppliers?
The political landscape in Latin America is often unstable. This has made it hard for operators to guarantee any return on a long-term investment, especially as gambling rules are changed often. This is especially true in regards to taxes. The right level of taxation is absolutely key when it comes to making a
profit and many governments have consistently raised taxes, often at very little notice. Change to taxes in 2015 in Panama (coupled with a decline in tourism), for instance, has all but decimated a once growing industry.
The partnerships require the local operator to hold a minimum 15 per cent stake in the business. A number of well known companies are now set to launch in the market including William Hill, bet365, Playtech Plc, 888 Holdings, Flutter, Intralot SA and the Betsson
Group. The process to start online gambling in the city of Buenos Aires started at the end of 2018, when the Buenos Aires Legislature approved the law that authorised the operation of online gambling. The following May regulations were approved.
In February 2020, the Lottery of the City of Buenos Aires (LOTBA) opened a call for those interested in
offering their services. Six business groups (some of them partnerships with local and foreign operators) will launch soon, including Codere. In addition, in September 2020 the Buenos Aires Legislature gave casinos in the city permission to run online gambling. The new bill means that both the racino and the
floating casino will be allowed to operate online facing versions of their operations.
In other jurisdictions the change has been so dramatic that operators are no longer able to conduct business at all. In 2010, then President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, announced that the government was seeking to ban gambling completely after a referendum, meaning foreign investors who had poured millions into casinos and hotels lost everything practically overnight.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, citizens have been living under a dictatorship in all but name ruled by President Nicolás Maduro for years. Te government continues with its anti-gambling crusade, meaning that there is practically no gambling industry left apart from state-run lotteries. Even in Chile, one of the most stable countries in the region and one of most
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