Population: 45.376.763
Active players: 7.000.000
Currency: Argentine peso (ARS)
Regulated gambling products: Sports betting, casino games, horse racing, lottery
Operator types: Licensed & unlicensed online bookmakers and casinos, land-based betting shops & casinos
Designated authority: Each one of the 24 provinces has a different regulatory authority
Status: Semi-regulated
Argentina is the second most populated country in Latin America, with an estimated population of around 46 million. It is the birthplace of football legends Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. Gambling in Argentina started with the first legal lottery in the 1810s shortly after the country declared its independence from Spain in 1816. The gambling sector grew immensely with the horse races at the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo that opened in Buenos Aires in 1876 and began taking bets from thousands of people.
Sports betting became a common pastime for many Argentinians in the 1960s. Online betting is semi-regulated nowadays. The country consists of 24 provinces in total, from which only 9 have online regulation in place. International sports betting sites in Argentina are typically illegal, but there is no law-enforcement for players who place their bets on well-established bookmakers.
Gambling in Argentina - 5 things to know
- The legal gambling age in Argentina is 18 years
- Annual online gambling revenue is circa $420 million
- Bueno Aires will announce the results for gambling licenses in 2021
- Only 9 provinces have regulated online gambling
- There is no tax on betting winnings
Best sports betting sites in Argentina
The following are the top sports betting sites in Argentina offering a wide array of betting markets on the Argentine Primera División, along with high odds and appealing promotions.
Online sports betting in Argentina: The gambling law framework
Argentina is organized under a federal system. 24 provinces including the city of Buenos Aires constitute the country’s administrative model. Up to February 2018, the Sports Forecast Law dealt with organized betting on sports nationwide. It allowed forecasts on any sporting event, with the exception of horse racing. The National Lottery managed and offered all betting options. It was a public corporation that was exclusively responsible for the country’s betting landscape. The National Lottery dissolved in February 2018, via Decree No. 95/2018 of the Argentine National Executive.
Nowadays, every province has the competence to regulate gambling by its own local jurisdiction. So, there are no federal Argentina gambling laws. Instead, each provincial authority has already set out its own gambling regulations. Land-based gambling is legal in all provinces. However, the province of Buenos Aires was the first to put forward the regulation of online gambling in order to grant Argentina online gambling licenses. Currently, the following 9 provinces have online gambling regulations in place: Buenos Aires, Misiones, Tucumán, Neuquén, San Luis, Entre Ríos, Chaco, Río Negro and La Pampa. Each one of them has a separate regulatory authority.
The online activity of bookmakers is limited to each province; otherwise, they might face prosecution and website blocking. Many international bookies have already applied for betting licenses; still, none of them has received one. On the contrary, a few local operators such as Palpitos24, Interbet, Jugadon and Guazubet already hold licenses. All licensees pay taxes. In Argentina, gambling tax is threefold: federal, provincial and municipal. The federal tax is 41% and applies to betting operators in all provinces. There is also a 21-25% provincial and municipal tax depending on each province.
Essential information for Argentinian bettors
In Argentina online gambling regulation is either on its way in many provinces or has already been settled and the applications for online betting licenses are under review. Locals gamble on licensed bookmakers. However, no legal action has been recorded against players who choose to place their bets on non-licensed international bookies. There is no tax on betting winnings. Nevertheless, there is a 2% tax that applies on every bet placed on licensed operators. Yet, this tax doesn’t apply on bets placed on international sportsbooks.
Debit and credit cards are very common among players. Furthermore, local bookmakers in Argentina offer a popular deposit method in Latin American nations called Lobanet. This payment allows instant bank transfers. On the other hand, bettors who opt for international sportsbooks; prefer to deposit funds to their account through globally known e-wallets, such as Skrill, Neteller and EcoPayz. Their primary concern is to keep their personal information as safe as possible, that is why they avoid cards and bank wire.
The future of online betting in Argentina
With an estimated annual revenue of USD 2.4 billion in online gambling, Argentina is planning to fully regulate online betting in all 24 provinces over the coming years, in order to boost its own economy. The Argentinian government has taken the decision to increase the tax on every wager from 2% to 5% from 2021 onwards. The necessity for a crystal-clear online gambling regulation is growing, since most bettors opt for international bookies that still don’t hold a local license but offer higher odds, wider markets and better promotions than the local licensees. Thus, the country is determined to increase its tax revenue through the legalization of many renowned international sportsbooks sooner rather than later.
The following list consists of all the international bookmakers that accept players residing in Argentina. All of them are well-trusted and offer an array of betting options along with high odds.
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Online gambling in Argentina is semi-regulated. The country has 24 provinces, from which 9 have settled their online betting regulations. International bookmakers like Bet365 and Ladbrokes have already applied for a provincial license in Buenos Aires, in order to become the best sports betting sites in Argentina.
Bwin Argentina was awarded a local license by the province of Misiones in 2007. The license, however, was revoked in 2012 because the betting operator used to offer its services beyond the provincial boundaries. Nevertheless, players residing in Argentina can still play on Bwin.
Bet365 Argentina accepts bettors from all the provinces of the country. The renowned online gambling operator has already applied for a local license in Argentina. However, it still has not received one.
1xBet Argentina is one of the popular international bookmakers that accept bettors from the country and enjoy a high reputation among locals. It offers a great variety of betting markets and promotions on a daily basis.
No, in Argentina online gambling winnings are not subject to tax. However, you should bear in mind that a 2% tax applies on every wager that is being placed on licensed betting sites. This particular tax doesn’t apply though on international bookies.