MF Studio Tomas Enrique Garcia Botta, Partner
Ahead of his appearance at SBC Digital Latinoamérica, Tomas Garcia Botta, Partner at MF Estudio, offers insight into how he expects the online market to develop and the significant regulatory nuances between the Province and City of Buenos Aires.
Following the conclusion of Buenos Aires' Province Tender, who has secured licences and what are the terms?
In the Province of Buenos Aires there is a cap on the number of licences. Law No. 15,079 stipulated the regulator can only issue up to seven licences. Te licensees are William Hill, bet365, Betsson Group, Playtech, Intralot, Te Stars Group and 888 Holdings.
Te framework was originally designed to target foreign companies who are established and internationally recognised and not to allow the participation of local land-based operators.
However, in 2018 there was the addition of a last-minute requirement stipulating that in order for foreign companies to participate in the tender they had to partner up with local land-based companies. Te above-named companies have therefore partnered with local operators as part of the contract.
There are reports Governor Kicillof will intervene and try to block the launch of the new gambling regime. Is there any word on the future of the online gambling licences in the Province?
It was the government who gave the final approval for the licences to be granted so it seems contradictory now that licences have been awarded to block the online gaming business.
In the context of a potential second wave of Covid-19, there should be a focus on online gaming businesses to get another revenue stream to cope with a potential closure of bingo halls.
When are operators expected to go live? P82 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
If you asked the regulators, they would like the operators to go live as soon as possible. However, the implementation of technical projects takes some time and involves a lot of stakeholders.
Tese are complex processes and most of the companies would like to prioritise quality over speed, particularly taking into consideration that this is the first time we have live legal operators in the Province and City of Buenos Aires.
It is expected that operators will go live in the City of Buenos Aires sometime during Q1 2021. In the case of the Province of Buenos Aires, we may expect a longer timeframe, although it should not exceed 2021.
If and when the new online gambling regime is given the green light and goes live, how do you anticipate it will impact the market?
Tere will be some friction between the City and Province of Buenos Aires. For those unfamiliar with the geography, the City of Buenos Aires is the capital district which is surrounded by the Province of Buenos Aires. Prior to Covid-19, we had around three million people commuting each day. Tese three million people, if domiciled in the Province, will be considered Province players following the regulation . If they were allowed to open an account and play in the City, there might be some issues between the jurisdictions.
Tere are some things the City and Province
The terms for applying for an online gaming agency permit are more flexible in the City of Buenos Aires. The experience requirement is not limited to gambling operations but any electronic commerce
operations. There is also a
requirement on revenue which is achievable - online
operations of around $1.2m.
need to work on to make this sustainable in the medium term. If this first milestone is met and they are able to show some coordination, my guess and wishful thinking would like the market to open up. Other jurisdictions are looking at what happens in the Province and City as they assess potential models. For example, Mendoza Province passed some regulation in December and is looking to launch a tender.
The City of Buenos Aires' LOTBA amended the terms of the permit application process, allowing international online gaming agency permits. What are the requirements?
Te terms for applying for an online gaming agency permit are more flexible in the City of Buenos Aires. Te experience requirement is not limited to gambling operations but any
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