Originally, article six provided that new legislation must determine the bidding process. This week, however, the legislators amended the legislation to give preference to land-based casino operators, taking into account that because of the pandemic they have not been able to operate.
Deputy Josefina Canale, former president of the local regulator’s Provincial Institute of Games and Casinos (IPJyC), said: “Companies that already have a licensed casino in Mendoza will have priority [when granting online licenses] because they have been closed since March and still have no opening date. If we open a competitive process, we’re making things more difficult for them.”
“The law will create a single registry of players who will be checked for information and the Institute will grant up to seven licenses. These funds will help the Institute to set up the intelligence and data protection servers.”
The Senate will have the last say, even though there were five votes against the bill. According to Deputy Mercedes Llano, the opponents argued that “each house will have a casino” and that “this project presents a potential danger of increasing gambling addiction.”
In this regard, Ida López, current IPJyC President, claimed that “online gambling already exists in the world, in the country and in the province.”
The proposal envisages a public tender to award a minimum of two and a maximum of seven licences. It will be the responsibility of the National Communications Entity (ENACOM) to block all national and international platforms which offer gambling services without a licence.
Companies involved in running online gambling in Mendoza must have a local address and the .ar domain must be terminated on their pages. The tender will start as soon as the bill is accepted by the Senate and will include all modalities for gambling and betting.
Source: Inkedin
