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Argentina – Buenos Aires deputy says gaming law needs to be modified

By - 20 February 2017

Buenos Aires Deputy Maria Ines Gorbea (SUMA+, Party), has confirmed that while she is in agreement with the recent decree by which the “floating casinos” located in Puerto Madero will now have to pay 30 per cent of profits on gaming as opposed to 20 per cent and the transfer of control over gaming to the city government, a number of important changes to the way gaming is regulated in the city should be made first.

Gorbea has been an outspoken critic of the way gaming has been regulated in the past and could be a key player in shaping just how and under what terms gaming is regulated in the future.
“Although it is a measure we support, it does not fully address the issue of the gaming,” she said in a statement. According to Gorbea tax revenue stood at $450m which made up just 0.6 per cent of the total as revenues last year stood at $82bn pesos. “Until real-time and online controls are implemented on slot machines, the problem will persist,” she said.

While in general terms she agreed with the transfer of control over gaming to the city she said that she and fellow members of her party objected to certain aspects of the transfer agreement presented by the executive in December 2016 since it clearly opens “the door for the expansion of gaming in the city.”

This she said could lead to a high social cost of problem gambling.

Gorbea also reminded fellow lawmakers how she and her political allies from the Coalición Cívica Party, had introduced a comprehensive new gaming law last year that sets out to regulate the activity until the licences granted to operators in the city end. Gorbea’s proposals also create a system whereby gaming machines in the capital would be monitored online and in real time by a central government-controlled server, makes advertising of gambling illegal, prohibits the installation of cash machines in gaming establishments and includes a wide number of player protection measures. However, once the present licences end her bill proposes an eventual end to gaming in the city.

Her comments come after it was revealed that the the casinos which are docked permanently to the city harbour in Puerto Madero will now be subject to an increase in licensing fees. The casinos will now have to pay 30 per cent of profits on gaming as opposed to 20 per cent which they paid previously. This, according to local sources, could mean an increase of US$20m a year. The additional tax revenue will be divided between the National Lottery (4 per cent), the Secretary for Sports (8 per cent) and the Ministry for Social Development (8 per cent).

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