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Argentina has been long considered by some Internet gambling operators, mostly US expats, as the next frontier to set up shop should the online gaming haven of Costa Rica ever decide it no longer wants to host the burgeoning multi billion dollar industry.
They can scrap those plans, at least in the foreseeable future.
According to the local reports the government is working at the law similar to the US's UIGEA that will ban any forms of gambling online. The main argument of the statesmen is that only taxable ways of payment should be allowed.
At the moment the government has already prepared 2 bills that should be considered the coming days. The first one defines all forms of the online gambling as the illegal ones. And the second one presents the penalties for the Internet Service Providers that allow the residents of Argentina to enter Internet casinos and gaming sites. Also, the bill lists the online games that are forbidden to play. Among them are such games as online poker, online bingo, sports wagering, and casino gambling.
Likewise, the news last week that Argentinean Internet gambling website Formoapuestas.com.ar in Buenos Aires province had been arbitrarily shut down by local licensing authority Loteria Nacional has been followed by reports that the province of Sante Fe is also considering a ban on Internet gambling.
Online poker network, Action Poker, will likely scrap its plans to build its business in Argentina. This summer, the company was looking to grow its newly launched poker product, Million Dollar Poker Club, in South America with Argentina one of the key focus countries.
Argentineans will also be deprived of betting on their home football team. Whether the law holds pat until the 2010 World Cup remains to be seen. Quite a few nations that once held strong objectives to legalized online gambling in one way or another have since changed their stance. Italy serves as a shining example.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
