Online sports betting authorized in Buenos Aires lottery agencies

The Chamber of Official Lottery Agents and Affiliates of Buenos Aires (CAOLAB) informed that it has been authorized by the provincial government, through the Provincial Institute of Lotteries and Casinos (IPLyC) of Buenos Aires, to implement online sports betting in its network of agencies.

For a while now, the entity has been holding meetings with the IPLyC and the provincial authorities to contribute ideas and to be able to move forward with the implementation of this gambling modality.

According to what was detailed, in these meetings, the entity had requested that the operators should not receive a commission of less than 18% of NGR and that such bets had to be captured in self-management terminals. However, only portable equipment provided by Boldt is being authorized for this purpose.

In addition, the chamber indicated that the development of a debit/credit system for this type of game is being evaluated. The company Provincia Net is in charge of this and will also have to provide the software for the collection of such bets.

It is worth highlighting that, a few days ago, the Buenos Aires regulator authorized QR code payments in the network of official agencies, as well as in gaming halls and racetracks of the province. CAOLAB requested that the implementation of this payment method be free of charge for the agents "given the advance of digital transactions."

In a letter addressed to Gonzalo Atanasoff, President of the IPLyC, CAOLAB expressed: "Adopting the QR code of some of the e-wallets available in the country implies the loss of 5% of our commission, already devastated by the 8% of the IIBB, the 2% applied by many municipalities, plus the very high fixed costs to sustain the business." 

"This, added to the 60% loss of our collection in the face of the inflationary advance of the last years, makes it impossible for the great majority of the operators to sustain the expense of this service, since it is not possible to transfer the cost to the sale price as it happens in the rest of the businesses," the letter added.