TLDR
- San Juan, Argentina, is close to finishing rules that would allow five online gambling licenses.
- The licenses would be offered by the province’s Caja de Acción Social (CAS).
- San Juan is working with Mendoza and San Luis on a shared self-exclusion agreement.
- Players who self-exclude in one province would be blocked in all three, online and in person.
- The plan would link the provinces’ self-exclusion databases under data protection rules.
San Juan, a province in western Argentina, is close to finishing rules that would let it offer five online gambling licenses. The licenses would be issued by the Caja de Acción Social, known as CAS.
The plan aims to improve how internet gaming is regulated. Officials also want to fight illegal gambling and increase tax accountability in the province.
CAS president Juan Pablo Medina said the framework is nearly complete. It is now in the final round of regulations before licenses can be offered.
San Juan Works With Mendoza and San Luis
Alongside the licensing process, San Juan is working with the nearby provinces of Mendoza and San Luis. The three are drafting a regional agreement on self-exclusion.
Self-exclusion lets a person choose to ban themselves from gambling. Under the proposal, a player who opts out in one province would be blocked in the other two.
“For the first time in the country, we will ensure that the self-exclusion tool has a real and coordinated interprovincial reach,” Medina said.
He added that if a person self-excludes in San Juan, “that protection will not end at our provincial borders; it will immediately extend to Mendoza and San Luis.”
The agreement targets a gap in the current system. Today, self-exclusion programs usually apply only within one jurisdiction.
That means a player banned in one province could travel to a neighboring province to gamble. They could also sign up with a regulated gambling site licensed there.
Shared Database at the Center of the Plan
Argentina has a decentralized gambling system. Each province sets its own rules for land-based and online gambling.
The City of Buenos Aires and the province of Buenos Aires each have their own regulators as well. This has led some to describe the country’s rules as “balkanized.”
The proposed deal would link the self-exclusion databases of the three provinces. Information on excluded players would be shared under confidentiality and personal data protection rules.
The shared register would apply to licensed online gambling sites. Any operator approved by one of the three provinces would have to stop people on the list from opening accounts or placing bets.
The ban would also cover physical venues. Licensed casinos, slot machine halls and bingo halls in the three provinces would be expected to deny entry to people on the unified register.
The move follows growing attention from Argentine officials to responsible gambling. Authorities have also been looking at ways to manage the growth of online gambling.
San Juan, Mendoza and San Luis are seeking a system that offers more oversight through coordinated self-exclusion. At the same time, it would allow legal online gambling to operate.
According to an October 6 report, CAS says the licensing framework is close to completion. The five online licenses would be offered once the final regulations are in place.
