Influencer charged by Santa Fe for illegal gambling recruitment
A 25-year-old man has been formally charged in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina, with illegal gambling solicitation and promoting unauthorized betting platforms. The judicial investigation alleges that the accused leveraged his digital influence on Instagram, where he has an audience of nearly one million followers, to direct users to unofficial raffles and online casino sites operating outside the provincial regulatory framework.
The accusation was presented by prosecutor Roberto Olcese to judge Nicolás Falkenberg, following the arrest of the suspect, identified as AET, during a raid last Friday in a private neighborhood in Santo Tomé. The case originated from a complaint by the Lotería de Santa Fe, the body that detected the solicitation maneuvers through the accused's social media.
The scheme of clandestine raffles and the use of bank transfers
According to the prosecutor's details, the influencer used his stories and reels to market "chances" to participate in raffles that included high-value prizes, such as a Peugeot 207 Quiksilver car, high-end phones, and cash sums. During December 2025, the accused sold numbers at prices ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 Argentine pesos, channeling the funds through bank transfers to accounts that are currently under judicial investigation.
This type of activity, by not having the authorization of the competent regulatory bodies, constitutes a crime of exploitation and organization of gambling solicitation systems. For these acts, AET has been charged as a co-perpetrator, as the scheme involved a payment and fund management structure that exceeded his individual participation on digital platforms.
Promotion of unlicensed iGaming platforms and bonus codes
In addition to the raffles, the criminal investigation focused on the advertising activity that the young man carried out during the first months of 2026. The influencer is accused of repeatedly disseminating direct links and promotional codes to attract his followers to betting sites and online casinos that do not have official authorization in the country.
Prosecutor Olcese explained that the accused offered exclusive benefits and bonuses to those who registered on these platforms using his mediation. By acting as a bridge between users and illegal operators, the accused would have committed the crime of promoting unauthorized betting, aggravating his legal situation by encouraging access to digital environments that do not guarantee player protection or transparency of results.
This case marks an important precedent in the province of Santa Fe regarding the legal responsibility of content creators in the face of the gaming industry. As the judicial process advances, authorities reinforce the message about the dangers of participating in platforms that do not display official regulatory seals, which often lack age verification and financial security mechanisms for their participants.
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