Argentina Online Casinos

The 172 gambling facilities in Argentina are located in 133 cities of the 23 provinces and the independent province of Buenos Aires. The facilities are almost relative to the cities because most cities have only one facility. Villa Mercedes, Villa de Merlo, Santiago del Estero, Santa Rosa, San Salvador de Jujuy, San Miguel de Tucumán, San Carlos de Bariloche, Salta, Rosario de la Frontera, Puerto Madryn, Posadas, Paraná, Mendoza, Mar del Plata, La Punta, Corrientes, Comodoro Rivadavia, Colón, Ciudad de San Luis, and Chajarí are the cities with more than one facility.

Buenos Aires particularly is the largest gambling province — note: not a city — in Argentina, with more than 10 casinos and thousands of gaming machines and table games. Casino Buenos Aires is the largest casino in the province, with 29 poker tables, 120 table games, and 1,400 gambling machines. Throughout the whole country, the oldest facility — Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo — is the largest. Without considering other gaming machines, there are 4,600 slot machines alone.

As with other South American countries, most casinos are attached to luxurious hotels, resorts, or cruise ships. The games and machines offered range from roulette and blackjack to craps, slot machines, poker tables, Punto Banco, Texas Hold’em, American roulette, baccarat, Lucky Ladies, Pai Gow poker, Caribbean Stud poker, and Let it Ride.

Particularly, poker and bingo are very popular in Argentina. In addition to casinos, there are bingo halls, racinos, racetracks, betting shops, and a national lottery in the country. The national lottery, similar to other South American countries, is run and authorized by the federal government.

As mentioned, each region in Argentina has its own gambling laws. Buenos Aires was the first region to legalise online gambling, back in 2002. In 2004, both lotteries and sports betting were formally legalised.

It was not until 2006, though, that the South American nation officially handed out its first gambling license.

For an online casino to be legal in Argentina, it must be licensed out of the region you are living in. Moreover, it must also strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of that region. These vary from state to state but typically include responsible gaming policies, and of course, the necessary tax measures. Any casino which does not adhere to these rules could see its license revoked. 

Most of Argentina’s recognisable online casinos are licensed out of Buenos Aires, as many of the other regions have taken a stricter line towards gambling. That is starting to loosen over the last few years, as those regions start to look at the potential financial rewards of legalising (and more importantly, regulating) online gambling.

While bona fide Argentine online casinos are few and far between, there are a few offshore casinos run by foreign operators for Argentines to play at. In fact, most Argentines who gamble online will typically do so at international sites, as they offer a greater variety of games than their national counterparts.

Playing at offshore casinos is technically illegal. In 2008, Argentina started to make moves to block access to these domains. However, trusty VPNs (virtual private networks) all be ensured that the government’s actions were unsuccessful.

This is partially the reason why many Argentine regions are now looking at legalising online gambling. It appears to very much be a case of, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join them”.

Argentina is the most massive, successful and developed country in South America, this is an established fact. And most of its success is attributed to its tourist attractions and entertainment industries. Particularly, gambling is a very popular notion — well, more motion than notion — in Argentina, and has been for a very long time.

Argentina gained its independence from the Spaniards, who have been in charge since the 16th century, in the 1810s. The first process in the independence of South America was a series of events called the May Resolution, which took place from 18 to 25 in the month of May 1810. Accordingly, from 1810 to 1818, Argentina fought a discrete war for its complete independence, called the Argentine War of Independence. In-between those years, precisely July 9, 1816, Argentina finally declared itself independent of Spain and introduced a national constitution.

Although gambling is extremely popular in the country, gambling has a generally run-of-the-mill history in the South American country. Further, horse racing is the first recordable form of gambling in Argentina. In 1876, the first racetrack, the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo in Buenos Aires, opened. In 1882, Jockey Club Buenos Aires organized a horse racing event for the citizens of Argentina to enjoy. The event received a considerably huge buzz and brought much popularity to gambling in the country. In 1884, the very first Argentina National Derby event was held in the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo.

However, the 1990s marked a great development in the gambling industry of Argentina. In this decade, the then-present administration started licensing land-based casinos and other gambling facilities within the country. Ironically, there are no federal laws pertaining gambling or gaming, and — more surprisingly — there is no national regulatory gambling body in Argentina. Instead, each province is tasked with its own view and laws of gambling within the length and breadth of the province.

Despite the pseudo-negligence from the federal government, Argentines still participate in an array of gambling activities. One feature that buttresses the high participation of gambling and gaming in the country is the brilliant and luxurious environment. Natives, as well as visitors, do enjoy gambling in this part of South America.

Although there are no federal laws or regulatory body pertaining gambling or casino in the country, gambling is legal and 100 percent of the provinces are happy to keep it legal. As of 2007, there were a total number of 80 gambling facilities in the country. In 2015, the figure has exponentially increased to 157. Today, Argentina offers a figure of 172 legal gambling facilities in the provinces of the country.

However, there is evidence that more facilities are in fact operational in the country.
Meanwhile, this figure is huge and the biggest in South America and most continents. Argentina is a gambling destination, which flocks of tourists visit for its diverse entertainment and gaming attractions — in addition to other natural attractions. The atmosphere is apparently luxurious and welcoming, so the gambling climate says “Welcome!” to whoever is interested in any of its many gambling activities and facilities.

• Regardless of the province, the minimum gambling age in Argentina is 18 years.
• As of 2016, the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo racino is the sixth largest gambling facility in the whole world — behind Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tampa in Florida, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, Empire City at Yonkers Raceway in New York, and WinStar World Casino and Resort in Oklahoma, respectively. In addition to horse racing, there are 4,600 slot machines in the racino.
• In Argentina, there is a popular belief that one who goes to a casino poor will come back rich overnight, generally because chance and luck is on one’s side.
• In fact, all forms of gambling are legal in Argentina.
• Presently, opening a casino or bingo hall is illegal in the country’s capital, Buenos Aires.
• There are two legal floating casinos operating in Buenos Aires. Floating in the sense that they run their businesses entirely on natural water.
• Each Argentine province controls its own gambling industry. The national lottery, the Lotería de La Argentina, however, is run by the federal government.
• The Latin American Poker Tour has been held twice (April 2009 and September 2010) in Argentina. The first winner won $381,030 while the other won $322,280.
• In the country, all forms of online gambling are fully legal, which is different when compared to most South American countries.
• The legalization of online gambling came as a result of a series of national protests against the ban of online gambling proposed in 2008. Instead of banning, ironically, the government legalised online gambling.
• However, the government have been licensing online pokers as far back as 2002.

Before you dive into an Argentine online casino (or an offshore one catering to Argentines), have a quick read of our FAQ to make sure you do not have any unanswered questions.