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Licence guide · Argentina
Argentina online gaming licences: Buenos Aires City, Buenos Aires Province and the rest of the map
If you are looking for "the" Argentine online licence, there is none. Gambling is a provincial power, so each of the 24 jurisdictions decides whether and how to allow online casino and betting. The two that matter most commercially are the City of Buenos Aires, regulated by LOTBA, and the Province of Buenos Aires, regulated by IPLyC. This page compares them, adds the federal tax layer and sketches the rest of the country, as reviewed in September 2026.
Why each province is its own regulator
Argentina's constitution leaves games of chance to the provinces and the Supreme Court has confirmed it. A licence from one jurisdiction only lets you accept players located in that jurisdiction, so a national footprint means several licences, several regulators and several tax returns.
Most provinces have now regulated online play: press reviews in 2025 counted around twenty of the 24 jurisdictions with a working online framework. Congress has debated national bills, mainly on minors and advertising, but none had created a federal licence when we reviewed this page.
City versus Province: two different models
The City of Buenos Aires (CABA) and the Province of Buenos Aires (PBA) are separate jurisdictions with separate regulators, even though they share a metropolitan area. Both issued their online licences in 2020-2021 and neither was taking new applicants in 2026.
LOTBA and IPLyC side by side (checked September 2026)
| Point | City of Buenos Aires (CABA) | Province of Buenos Aires (PBA) |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | LOTBA, Lotería de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires S.E. | IPLyC, Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos |
| Main online law | City gaming laws administered by LOTBA; Ley 6.330 of 2020 adds pathological-gambling, advertising and self-exclusion rules | Ley 15.079 of March 2019 |
| Licences | Issued from late 2021; counts quoted in the press range from 7 to 17 depending on date and on whether brands or companies are counted | Maximum of 7, awarded by public tender at the end of 2020 |
| Term | Set in the authorisation conditions | 15 years, non-renewable |
| New entrants in 2026 | Application window closed; entry through an existing licensee | Quota full; entry through an existing licensee |
| Local partner | Not required as such | Local incorporation and an Argentine partner expected |
Because both lists are closed, a new entrant in Buenos Aires usually buys into, or partners with, a company that already holds a licence. That is a commercial negotiation, not a regulatory procedure, and the regulator still has to approve changes of control.
The three tax layers
Online gaming in Argentina pays a provincial or city canon to the regulator, the local gross income tax (Ingresos Brutos), and a federal indirect tax on each online bet. Published rates for the first two vary by jurisdiction and have changed often, so treat any single percentage as a snapshot.
Federal: the indirect tax on online bets
Ley 27.346 of 2016 created a federal tax on online bets, amended by Ley 27.591 (2021 budget). Decreto 293 of June 2022 set the current rate grid, which depends on where the operator is based and whether it is registered.
Federal indirect tax on online bets, Decreto 293/2022
| Operator situation | Rate on the bet |
|---|---|
| Argentine operator, registered, meeting the investment or employment test | 2.5 % |
| Argentine operator, registered | 5 % |
| Argentine operator, not registered | 7.5 % |
| Foreign operator without a local intermediary | 10 % |
| Foreign operator, not registered or in a non-cooperative jurisdiction | 15 % |
Local layers
For Buenos Aires Province, published summaries cite a canon to IPLyC plus provincial gross income tax, with figures ranging from a 2 % monthly canon on gross profit to a combined burden above 20 %. For the City, reporting in 2025-2026 cites a 7 % canon and 6 % gross income tax, with a bill proposing to double the latter. The regulators do not publish one consolidated rate, so model each jurisdiction with local advisers.
Beyond Buenos Aires
Several provinces run their own online licences, often with small quotas and a provincial lottery as regulator. They are smaller markets individually, but together they cover much of the country.
- Córdoba: Ley 10.793, enacted December 2021 and regulated in May 2022, with the Lotería de la Provincia de Córdoba as authority and a limited number of time-bound licences. A reform on responsible gambling and minors was under discussion in 2025.
- Mendoza: Ley 9.267 of 2020, supervised by the Instituto Provincial de Juegos y Casinos, with a cap of seven operators.
- Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, Neuquén, Río Negro, Tucumán and others: regulated regimes, each with its own regulator, quota and tax rules.
- A few jurisdictions had no active online regime in 2025 reviews.
Player verification, domains and advertising
Licensed platforms check identity against RENAPER, the national population registry, and operate on .bet.ar domains that make the lawful offer recognisable. Anti-money-laundering duties follow UIF Resolution 194 of 2023 for online gaming.
Advertising is the area moving fastest. The City's Ley 6.330 already restricts gambling advertising and sponsorship and created a self-exclusion registry, and several provinces have tightened rules on influencers and on access by minors. Expect creative assets to be reviewed per jurisdiction.
Content for Argentine lobbies
Argentine regulators approve a specific platform and its game list, usually on the strength of reports from independent test houses (GLI and BMM Testlabs are two familiar names). A title that is not on the certified list of a province should not be visible to players from that province.
Serving two or three provinces from one stack is therefore mostly a filtering job. With our casino game aggregator API, each game carries its studio, category, currencies and market, so a provincial lobby shows only what was certified there, and the country value sent at launch enforces every studio's territorial terms. A single integration and seamless wallet let several brands share one player ledger. Football drives Argentine traffic, which is why most operators put a sportsbook API on that same wallet and add dealer tables from studios such as Evolution or Ezugi via the live casino API.
Pesos are supported natively (ARS): players can hold ARS balances, or the whole site can be pinned to pesos. Free-play demos use their own launch call, getGameDemo, apart from real-money sessions. The catalogue and currency list evolve all the time, and the API always returns the current set. Comparing with the neighbour? Our Brazil SPA guide describes the federal model across the border.
Questions operators ask about Argentina
Is there a national online gambling licence in Argentina?
No. Gambling is regulated by each province and by the City of Buenos Aires. A licence covers players located in the issuing jurisdiction only.
Can I still get a LOTBA or IPLyC licence in 2026?
Both lists were closed in 2026. IPLyC has a maximum of seven licences for 15 years, and LOTBA's application window has closed, so new entrants usually partner with or acquire an existing licensee.
How much tax does an online casino pay in Buenos Aires?
It depends on the jurisdiction: a canon to the regulator, local gross income tax and the federal tax on online bets of 2.5 % to 15 % depending on the operator's status. Published local rates differ between sources, so get a current calculation locally.
What is the federal tax on online bets in Argentina?
Under Decreto 293 of 2022, 5 % of the bet for registered Argentine operators, 2.5 % for those meeting investment or employment tests, and 7.5 % to 15 % for unregistered or foreign operators.
Which Argentine provinces regulate online casinos?
Buenos Aires Province, the City of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, Neuquén, Río Negro and Tucumán among others; around twenty jurisdictions had a regime by 2025.
Can players in Argentina play in pesos on aggregated games?
Yes. ARS is a native currency for us, either as a player balance currency or as the single currency of a pesos-only site.
Sources and last update
Argentine rules are spread across provincial laws, regulator resolutions and federal tax decrees, and published figures often disagree. We give the dated source for each point and flag where sources differ; checked September 2026. Nothing here is legal advice: engage counsel in each province you target.
- Ley 15.079 of the Province of Buenos Aires (March 2019) and IPLyC Resolución 795/2020 on the award of online licences.
- Ley 6.330 of the City of Buenos Aires (promulgated 24 September 2020) on pathological gambling and gambling advertising.
- Ley 27.346 (2016), Ley 27.591 (2021 budget) and Decreto 293/2022 on the federal indirect tax on online bets.
- Ley 10.793 of Córdoba (December 2021) and Ley 9.267 of Mendoza (2020).
- UIF Resolution 194/2023 on anti-money-laundering duties for online gaming.
- Press reviews of provincial regimes and local tax rates published in 2025 and April-June 2026.
Last reviewed: 24 September 2026.
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