Córdoba igaming bill approved, sent to governor

The bill, designed to eliminate illegal gambling, was first introduced in December. It permits the use of casino games, sports betting and lotteries.

With Argentina allowing for gambling to be legalised on a state-by-state basis, Córdoba followed the lead of the province of Buenos Aires, which awarded licences to seven operators last year, as well as the city of Buenos Aires, where operators launched last month.

Under the terms of the bill, licensees will be allowed to develop their own online gaming offerings in the area. Licences are valid for a maximum of 20 years, and up to five will be granted. The bill also allows for foreign operators to be involved, provided they partner with an approved licence holder and contribute no more than 35% to the operations.

The bill stipulates that any bettor should be 18 or over and register their details with a licensee. Licence holders will be obligated to retain a player’s information for up to five years after the customer relationship ends.

Responsible gaming initiatives have been written into the law, such as allowing players to set deposit limits, set self-exclusion limits, and enable an alert that tells a player they’ve been logged into their account for more than three hours.

Advertising of gambling has been prohibited within the bill unless the gaming authority has given its explicit approval.