Argentina's Policy towards Sports Betting and Gambling

Compared to other South American and foreign countries, Argentina is less formal and practical in its approach to gambling and betting. That which has remained so prohibited or even shameful in much of the world has been warmly embraced by the Argentinean population. This widespread acceptance has helped in making football and other sports betting popular, though nothing compares to Argentina's sport of passion, football.

A state-sponsored lottery had once taken a weekly football prediction game as a measure to encourage the sport in the country. The game involved individuals forecasting on elite-division football fixtures and soon became extremely popular, changing the culture of football. The overall betting sector was also impacted by it. This lottery was eventually shut down, along with the game, after being found non-viable by the authorities.

Despite this, football betting remains extremely popular among Argentinians. However, the lack of a unified federal legal system for online betting puts a restriction on operators being able to freely offer their services across all provinces.

Legal Framework and Regulation of Sports Betting in Argentina

All forms of gambling and betting are provided to clients in Argentina, with land-based establishments being tightly controlled and subject to significant limitations, particularly for providers. Online betting, on the other hand, is regulated provincially. While some provinces have enacted laws authorizing online betting, others have not yet granted such laws.

Sports Forecasting Law

Before getting into the more advanced points of online gambling law, it's necessary to know about the underlying law that once regulated organized sports wagering. The law allowed for predictions on the results of any sporting event—except horse racing—and set that all such sports betting would be provided and regulated by the state. Private enterprise was prohibited from offering them. That changed when the national lottery that was responsible for operating these activities was finally abolished.

Current Legal Framework

There are 24 independent gambling jurisdictions in Argentina, each of which has its own policy regarding how to license online betting. Some provinces merely allow locally licensed operators to accept bets, but others are receptive to firms licensed elsewhere. Though attempts were made to shut down offshore betting websites, the attempts proved only partially effective. In practice, neither players nor operators are prosecuted or penalized presently for participating in offshore betting. Some offshore operators left the market, but overall, the impact on the industry has been minimal. In present times, some 15 betting websites use local Argentine domains.

Another salient aspect of the current regulatory regime is taxation. There exists both a gaming machine tax and a general tax on gambling covering most forms of gambling. The idea has even been put forth to tax distant gaming operators at higher rates, particularly through VAT. However, winnings—both produced at the traditional land-based locations or through the internet—are even now excluded from consumer taxation. 

Most Popular Odds Format in Argentina

It is essential that any player know betting odds, and Argentina prefers the use of the decimal system, one of the simplest to understand. The decimal system is preferred not only in Argentina but also across Europe, Canada, and Australia. Football fans—who make up most of the bettors—most prefer the use of decimal odds because they are easy to understand and calculate. For instance, a wager of 100 units at 1.5 odds would result in 150 units—your initial stake of 100 units and your earnings of 50 units.

The American odds, or the Moneyline, is also one that usually gets listed. They're weird-looking to start, but are quite straightforward when taken apart. They're comparative to 100 and positive or negative, depending on the favored side or an underdog side. In plain language, they denote whether a payment is more than or less than even money.

Payment Solutions for Argentine Sports Bettors

Most Argentina-based online sportsbooks accept the local currency, the Argentine peso (ARS), for payments. But this is less likely for offshore sites, where people are more likely to find alternatives such as US dollars (USD), euros (EUR), and so on. Even some websites offer bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment options with a variety of flexible payment methods.

Choosing a secure, trusted, and quick payment method is crucial. Since the majority of Argentine gamblers use international payment systems—credit cards, debit cards, and e-wallets—they will be able to easily sign up and apply for their chosen deposit and withdrawal methods when opening accounts on betting websites.