San Juan prepares to issue five online gambling licences
Argentina’s San Juan province is preparing to tender five online gambling licences as it moves towards launching a regulated market and cracking down on operators already taking bets without local approval.
Caja de Acción Social (CAS) president Juan Pablo Medina confirmed the provincial gambling authority is working on the tender documents that will determine which companies can legally offer online gambling in San Juan.
The important distinction is that San Juan currently has no authorised online gambling operators.
The province has already passed its online gambling legislation and implementing regulations, but licences cannot be issued until the tender process is completed.
That means websites currently accepting online bets from people in San Juan without provincial authorisation are operating illegally, Medina told local media.
“The law is already in force, it has been regulated and we are working on the tender specifications,” Medina told San Juan outlet La Picada.
San Juan approved Law 2724-P in December 2024, establishing the legal framework for online gambling and placing the market under the supervision of the CAS.
The legislation allows the province to issue a maximum of five licences through a public tender, rather than allowing an unlimited number of companies to enter the market.
Licences can run for up to 10 years, with the possibility of an additional five-year extension.
The regulated market is expected to cover online casino games and other forms of internet gambling permitted under the provincial framework.
San Juan authorities say bringing the market under CAS supervision will give them greater control over operators, taxation and player protection while providing stronger tools to tackle illegal gambling sites.
Medina said the CAS has already identified websites operating without authorisation and is working towards referring illegal gambling cases to prosecutors.
The move could, however, create a dispute with existing casino operator IVISA.
Local newspaper Diario de Cuyo reported that IVISA maintains its existing agreement with San Juan gives it exclusive rights to operate online gambling in the province until 2039.
That claim could become increasingly significant as the government prepares to award licences to additional companies.
The introduction of online gambling also forms part of a broader regional push to improve player protection. San Juan has joined neighbouring jurisdictions in developing shared self-exclusion measures intended to prevent excluded gamblers simply moving between different provincial markets.
Argentina does not have a single federal licensing system for online casino and sports betting.
Instead, gambling is primarily regulated at provincial level, meaning operators must obtain approval separately in jurisdictions where they want to offer their services.
Major markets including the City of Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province already operate regulated online gambling systems, while other provinces have adopted their own licensing models or continue to prohibit online gambling.
San Juan’s next major step will be publication of the tender conditions and the selection of the companies permitted to compete for the five licences.
Until those licences are awarded, the CAS’s position is that no privately operated online gambling website is currently authorised to take bets in San Juan.
