It is difficult for someone not to have noticed his explosion. On the radio and on television, the houses of online bets they dominate the advertising batches. Outside of the traditional media, influencers and content generators on a wide variety of topics promote virtual casinos. There are billboards on public roads and in transportation. In recent months, moreover, more and more football clubs have signed contracts for these companies to be their main sponsors. Such is its penetration that, at the Martín Fierro, the guests received Argentine flags with one of these printed brands and were ordered not to wave them so that the cameras could capture the logo well. The bombardment is incessant.
The online bets They are the new big business in Argentina. Since they were legalized in the country, important international platforms have landed, allied with local gaming entrepreneurs. Experts on the subject estimate that the sector generates revenue of around US$ 2.4 billion annually and it is estimated that there are around 19 million players.
There are a number of factors that explain this explosion: the advance of regulations in Europe prompted companies to seek friendlier territories in other latitudes of the world, while the pandemic contributed its own and today is recognized as the moment in which sites proliferated and the number of players grew. In the country, in addition, the sanction of laws that legalized the activity completely changed the panorama. In fact, thanks to these regulations, today these companies can sponsor clubs or sponsor events without any complications.
The representatives of the sector repeat that it is essential to support legalization and agree on the same argument: online gambling is a reality and legal companies must be defended. Although it is difficult to find numbers, an investigation by Todo Noticias (TN) revealed that in the country 80% of the bets they are clandestine
Although there is agreement on the importance of regulation, there are a few voices that are warning about the way in which the sector is progressing. The deputy ombudsman of the province of Buenos Aires, Walter Martello, is one of those who are watching the phenomenon with concern. “The regulation seems correct to me. The issue is that a very important chapter is missing: the regulation of regulation. In places like Chile, Spain or Uruguay, progress is being made with laws that control advertising, ”he told NOTICIAS.
clubs. At this point in the industry, the sports bets They are the big stars, which were consolidated with the start of the World Cup in Qatar 2022. But they are not only betting on soccer. According to a study carried out by PlayTech in Latin America, 27% of Argentines turn to tennis betting. Outside the world of sports, 23% of those surveyed said they bet on reality shows.
However, what happens with football goes beyond the bets per se. The clubs (and their footballers) are a showcase for more and more people to learn about betting sites. Once inside the platform, the options are endless and range from roulette and online poker to circumstantial bets with some current event (depending on the site).
Currently, the company codere He has a contract with River Plate and Lanús; b-play with Vélez Sarsfield, Estudiantes de La Plata and with the Argentine Football Association (AFA); BetWarrior with Saint Lawrence; Betsson with Boca Juniors and Racing; city center with Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys.
This segment is, in other parts of the world, the place to put the brakes. The latest news in this regard came from Great Britain: in April, the Premier League announced that advertising for houses of bets and that they removed the logos of the companies from the t-shirts. More and more countries are advancing along the same lines. The reasons? The alarming reports on compulsive gambling, and in particular childhood compulsive gambling.
ghosts. In 2015, the Supreme Court established that gambling is an activity that each province must regulate. Since 2021, and with the promotion of the enactment of laws in Buenos Aires and the Federal Capital, the tendency to legalize the activity spread throughout the territory and more and more licenses began to be issued. However, the regulations failed to eliminate the clandestine gambling.
The game map is complex. In legal betting houses, the authorities assure that they have areas in charge of reviewing the platforms and confirming that there is no “technological deception” such as that roulette stops without manipulation.
In any case, the ghost of traps is more present than ever. At the end of June, the players of the JJ Urquiza club came out with a strong slogan: “No to corruption.” They told how people approached them so that they would be less and let themselves win the game for this or that result. In off, a manager of a C club assured that at the beginning of the year a Russian escorted with five people visited him and offered to take charge of eight contracts in exchange for delivering five results.
The industry of online bets grows and it is difficult to find specialized sources that do not have a direct interest in the sector. Because, beyond the advertising bombardment, the warnings about gambling or the regulatory trends of the world, in Argentina no one has any doubts that it will generate more and more money.
