Santa Fe approves iGaming regulations, combats illegality
The government of the province of Santa Fe has formalized the regulation that establishes how online gaming and betting will operate within the territory. The regulation, approved by the Legislature in December and now validated by the Executive, aims to organize the activity, reduce illegal gambling, and strengthen prevention policies against gambling addiction.
According to the decree published in the Official Gazette, the new framework seeks to protect users and guarantee a regulated environment, ensuring that the activity is carried out for recreational purposes and within responsible gaming parameters. The text emphasizes the need to minimize addiction risks and prevent the legal market from being displaced by unauthorized operators.
The Santa Fe Lottery will be the authority responsible for enforcing the regulation and overseeing the operation of digital platforms. Among its responsibilities are supervising the amounts wagered, ensuring the collection of taxes and fees, and preventing money from ending up with operators from other jurisdictions or illegal sites.
Although casinos maintain the monopoly on the operation of games and bets, the regulation opens the door for the provincial Lottery to develop its own online platform or call for a bidding process to incorporate new licensees, setting concession conditions and fee schemes.
The decree establishes that bets may only be placed when credit loading is carried out at authorized agencies or when the user's location can be verified through geolocation, ensuring that operations occur within the territory of Santa Fe.
Authorized activities include games of chance, sports betting, horse racing, and virtual games, in addition to any other modality that the Lottery may authorize in the future. In the case of online betting, wagering will be allowed on authorized sporting events, horse races, and other real events as long as they do not fall under prohibited activities.
The regulation also sets clear limits: bets related to illegal acts or that violate fundamental rights will remain prohibited. Events that affect the dignity, honor, privacy, or image of individuals are excluded, as well as those that may put children, adolescents, or young people at risk, or promote violence, discrimination, or other offensive behaviors.
With this step, Santa Fe joins the group of Argentine provinces advancing in the regulation of the digital betting ecosystem, seeking a balance between state control, user protection, and market modernization.
Tags: Argentina, Santa Fe, Santa Fe betting regulation, Province of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Lottery