Buenos Aires to offer unlimited licences for sports betting and egaming
Argentine city moves away from licence limits and unveils reduced 10% GGR tax rate
Buenos Aires gambling regulators are no longer planning to limit the number of licences available for fixed-odds sports betting and online casino after the city unveiled its first regulations.
Buenos Aires lottery and gaming authority (LOTBA) released initial regulations on Friday, as part of the launch of a tender process for interested operators.
Licences will be granted to so-called “online gaming agencies” for a period of five years and are extendable. Authorised activities for online casino will include casino table games, slots, bingo and poker games.
Sports betting activities include virtual games, non-sports events betting and exchange betting.
Interested licensees must pay an initial $30,000 administrative fee to LOTBA, as well as a $100,000 annual fee for the licence once it has been awarded for the full five-year term.
Operators must also provide a $2m bank security guarantee as part of the application process. To qualify, operators must have a net worth equivalent to $25m, as well as at least two years’ experience of online operational activities.
Under the city’s proposed model, operators will be taxed at a rate of 10% of gross gaming revenues (GGR), with the market potentially going live at the end of 2020.
This tax rate is a substantial reduction on the 25% GGR tax model mooted by both the provincial and city authorities initially, potentially making the city market the more attractive one for operators.
The move away from restricting the number of licences contrasts with the regulatory model of the Buenos Aires province, where licences have been restricted to seven in the parallel provincial regulatory regime.
Despite a process being launched in April 2019, provincial Buenos Aires licences for sports betting and online casino have still to be awarded among the 16 operators that applied.
However, reports in December claimed that bet365, William Hill, The Stars Group, Flutter, 888, Playtech and Intralot were among the highest scoring applicants and were in pole position to be awarded the seven licences.
The city’s regulations permit all forms of advertising by operators, as long as gambling advertising is clearly identifiable, truthful and is socially responsible.
Bonuses and promotional activities are allowed if they are fair, accurate and not misleading and online operators can offer free-to-play games on their respective websites.
Licensed operators found to be in breach of licence conditions, be it through advertising or other offences, can be issued with fines based on the seriousness of the offence.
Operators can be fined up to $10,000 for minor infractions and anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000 for serious offences, while licences can also be revoked.