ARGENTINIAN CITY CONSIDERS LEGALISING ONLINE GAMBLING

27 June 2008

Intralot alleged to be favoured for new Intenret gambling facility


Mauricio Macri, the mayor of the important Argentinian city of Buenos Aires is apparently considering the legalisation of Internet betting in his city, presumably aimed initially at a lottery operation reports the local newspaper La Nacion.

The report claims that the Greek company Intralot is a front-runner for the tender.

Argentina has 23 largely autonomous regions which have their own ordinances regarding gambling, and on a national level there is no specific ban on Internet gambling, according to legal sources in the country. However, federal laws insist on sportsbetting activities in general being handled by the monopolised national lottery company across the nation.

The major Vienna listed betting company Bwin experienced difficulties in setting up a Buenos Aires operation earlier this year due to local regulations in the national capital, which the mayor is now keen to amend.

The confusing legal situation has not stopped several well known companies from operating in Argentina, namely Formoapuestas.com.ar, VCapuestas.com.ar (Victor Chandler) and ar.888.com.

Buenos Aires attorney Dr. Antonio Coll Collada, says there is no specific legislation regarding online gambling in Argentina, and a resident of the country is committing no legal offence by doing so. Argentine law allows any person of age 21 years old or more to gamble in a legal [land] casino established in Argentine territory, and in any case where a judge decided to apply a territorial law to an internet case, age should be the only restriction to consider.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa