Online gambling is without a doubt more popular than ever before. Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders prompted the world to take a closer look at how to make the industry as safe as possible. Argentina was one of the countries to step up their regulated online gambling game and it's proving to be a winner.
As more provinces within the country pass laws and set up the infrastructure to support legalised online casinos and sportsbooks, the iGaming market is growing - slowly but surely.
In January of 2021, Buenos Aires welcomed online gambling to its shores and seven licenses were granted to authorised operators at the end of the year. Now, next on the list is the province of Cordoba, which has received the green light to bring a new bill into effect as soon as possible.
Cordoba Puts iGaming on the Map
After Argentina decided to allow gambling on a province-by-province basis, the heads of the different states have been drawing up bills to legalise gambling going forward.
The bill that was put forward in December of 2021 has received the green light and this means that online casinos, sportsbooks, and lotteries will all be legal within the province very soon.
Currently, there are only a handful of concrete details but what we do know about the bill includes:
- All bettors within Cordoba will need to be at least 18 years old.
- Operators will be required to keep the details of players for up to 5 years after the customer's account has been closed.
- Between 5 and 10 licenses will be granted to approved operators.
- There is a chance that 20 licenses will be provided.
- The minimum term of an online gambling license will be 20 years.
The number of available licenses within Cordoba seems to be very limited at this point in the process. However, offshore operators will also have a chance to be included, if they partner with a local licensed operator. It's also stipulated that the offshore operator does not contribute more than 35% to the site's offerings.
A Focus on Responsible Gambling
More than just a fad or passing phrase that is thrown around when discussing online gambling, responsible gaming has become an important focus for regulators and operators around the world.
The Province of Cordoba is also ensuring that their players are safe with responsible gambling written into the bill that has been passed.
The ability to set deposit and withdrawal limits, the choice to self-exclude from online gambling entirely, and time alerts are all part of the safe gambling guidelines included in the province's laws.
It has also been revealed that gambling advertisements are prohibited unless direct approval is received from the gaming authority in charge.
As Argentina prepares to welcome another province that will be home to iGaming, it remains to be seen which operators and software providers will throw their hats into the ring to be a part of the action in Cordoba. But there's no doubt, that some of the best names in the business will be offering their services to those in the province very soon.
