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A daily podcast delving into the biggest stories of the day throughout the sports betting and igaming sector.
Fernando Noodt (00:04.168)
Exhaustion and anger levels are through the roof. The clock strikes just a few minutes past 9 p.m. and lawmakers have been in the Chamber of Deputies since midday. Amid a lot of tension, they have just voted to approve Article 8 of a proposed bill pushing forward a blanket ban.
on gambling advertising in Argentina. Welcome to iGaming Daily, I am your host for today Fernando Nott, Senior Business Journalist for SBC Noticias and I will break down this shocking news coming from Buenos Aires together with no other than the boss Lucia Gando, Editor for SBC Noticias. Lu, how are you?
Lucía (00:41.084)
Hello Fer, I'm good. We have, as you said, shocking news from here. So we always have controversial December's and here we are again.
Fernando Noodt (00:52.231)
Yes, we are surely already used to having a bit of a bumpy few weeks over the end of the year, every year. That's mainly because, of course, Congress enters into a recess in December, so they want to get everything done before the end of the year. But we will get into detail about that in a few minutes, because first we want to thank OptiMove, the number
one CRM marketing solution for the iGaming market and sponsor of iGaming Daily. As a special offer OptiMove are offering new clients a free first month when they buy OptiMove. For more information and claim the free month go to OptiMove.com slash SBC and we will leave of course links down in the podcast episode description so you can find them easily. And now back to Buenos Aires where both Lu and myself are based so we are very aware of what's going on or how the
the whole ambience feels like how the people are reacting to this news because Argentina has certainly broken the internet like Kim Kardashian and every media outlet after moving forward with this bill that includes a ban like I said on gambling advertising so why don't you go ahead and break down what happened on Wednesday
Lucía (02:14.476)
yes, first of all, I want to say that, we have to, sorry. Again. so well, first of all, we have to say that the bill was introduced as a, as an initiative to protect teenagers from problem gambling. there's been a pandemic of underage Argentinians betting on illegal gaming sites.
So this is the point of the debate. This is happening. This is real. But the way that our legislators are addressing this issue is the part that we can keep questioning to see if they have the results that they are expecting. Well, the...
pandemic of teenagers participating in illegal gaming sites was mostly warned by schools and parents in the last few years, but especially now is more debated in our society as a lot of influencers, celebrities, sport clubs and athletes are involved in the industry, mostly in marketing campaigns. And this is the point
that is being now discussed by legislators, the marketing initiatives. Though this is a real issue that's been affecting the social dynamics among teenagers, it's important to keep debating about it and include the industry in these debates, right? Because we know this is a very criticized industry in general and its actors here in Argentina.
I mean, people who represent operators, suppliers and that stuff were not able to participate in the legislative debate these past few weeks. So, well, you know, we had to hear a lot of nonsense in the mouth of our representatives. It was a 12-hours debate that didn't include any experts from the industry. we have to...
Fernando Noodt (04:12.343)
Right.
Lucía (04:30.514)
to highlight that there was a part of the debate that didn't have much information about what's going on. well, anyway, the bill now has to be approved. has, again, the bill now has the approval of deputies and it was approved on the, and if it was approved on the signing it off as well.
It would mean that all kinds of sponsorships and advertising campaigns by gaming and betting companies would be totally prohibited in Argentina as a whole, even though each province regulate its own gaming market. So that's another controversial point. And as I said, the main argument of the bill is to protect children and teenagers from accessing to gambling.
and now they are pushing for an advertising ban in all platforms, Internet, radio, TV, in the streets, also welcome bonuses will be banned. The greatest impact as we know, however, would be on the sports sector as the sponsorship would be banned.
whether they are with a club, with an athlete, with a sports celebrity or whatever, this would mean that betting brands would not be able to appear in any stadium, sportswear or any social platform from athletes, clubs or leagues. And we know right now that major sports brands in Argentina like Boca River and even the national football team have partnerships with the betting industry. So this would be...
impact on their financial structures, right? So the bill also states that gaming advertising will only be allowed inside land-based gaming shops and they should always include warnings about problem gambling and on a later note the bill would only allow payments with bank debit cards and money in virtual wallet accounts
Fernando Noodt (06:19.546)
Yeah.
Lucía (06:42.716)
However, it will prohibit payment with credit cards and funds from accounts linked to welfare plans.
Fernando Noodt (06:53.787)
Yeah, I think you made a very valid point there by saying that this bill is actually aimed at protecting minors, protect the underage population of Argentina that have been very close to the gaming industry, mostly to unregulated websites because those are the ones that don't ask for any verification.
of who is on the other side of the screen, right? So we, of course, started the episode by talking about the gambling ban, the blanket ban on gambling advertising. But of course, that is one article out of 52 articles that the bill has. So there's a lot of things to actually consider here, but we are putting the focus, of course, on gambling advertising because it will be very, very...
It would have a very significant impact on the gaming industry, of course, because they wouldn't be allowed to advertise anywhere but inside of the casinos and the lottery agencies. So people who are already playing would be advertised to continue playing, I guess. But yeah, there's, like you said, of course, proposal to create a self-exclusion registry to...
address the payments situation so it's a very complex bill but
the gambling advertising thing was the one that made the most impact in the conversation. But the government, of course, tried to block this bill. Actually, we already mentioned this in the previous episode where we made very wrong forecasts about this bill because we were, personally said I didn't think this would get discussed and this immediately got discussed. So I apologize for that. But the government tried to block this bill by making it go through
Fernando Noodt (08:53.128)
several committees and then before the session, of course, the Chamber of Deputies needs a certain amount of deputies to be sitting in their seats to actually debate the bill. And so the government party and their allies got up and left the room in order not to debate the bill. But since the rest of the chamber had agreed to actually debate it, they reached the number necessary and they had to come back and actually debate the bill.
during the debate and during the vote, both the government party and their allies opposed the bill. But, you said that now it has to go to the Senate. So how close is that from happening?
Lucía (09:38.719)
Well, as you mentioned earlier in this podcast, deputies will go to the... Sorry, again, again. I'm not good today. Well, as you said at the beginning of the podcast, the senators will go to its recess on December 1st to March 1st.
It's a lot of time. So it's very unlikely that the prohibition will be set before March 2025. I mean, we are three days away, two days away from December. So I don't think the Senate will address this bill in the agenda during these days. So we have to wait to March to see if the bill moves forward. Once in the Senate,
we will see if it is approved, if it is rejected or if it's modified. In that case, it would come back to the Chamber of Deputies and get signed by the president. So it has a long way to go still.
Fernando Noodt (10:52.558)
Yeah, actually, over the last few hours, there has been a lot of rumors around what the government may do because this government has already vetoed a few laws that have made it through the deputies chamber and the Senate as well. And then the government decided that those laws weren't convenient for their plan. So they vetoed them. And there has been no official word from them yet, but some journalists that covered the activity from
the government house that they are there close to government official have quoted and allegedly key source source from the government saying that they might actually veto this bill should it make it through the Senate but I have made my my research as well I have contacted some people and right now it seems like nobody is liking how this bill has has been structured in the of course in the government and part of the Senate so they will blow
there will probably be a lot of hurdles for the bill in the senate and it probably might fail there even if it does have success if it does make progress there it will probably be severely changed which will force the bill back to the chamber of deputies so it is a big wait and see this time in Buenos Aires for the gaming bill but of course the gambling advertising ban is severely harsh
unlicensed compliant companies that have set foot in Argentina, that have set foot in several provinces. And SBC News editor Ted Memmure has reached out to Betzon and they noted their concerns about this specific push. Let's remember Betzon is in several provinces. So Lou, why don't you talk us through that?
Lucía (12:41.307)
Yeah, but Sony is the author.
Lucía (13:07.975)
So, yeah. Well, we know that Betzone is the main sponsor of Boca Juniors. So it's like right now, sorry. Yeah.
Fernando Noodt (13:09.05)
bitum.
Fernando Noodt (13:17.606)
Yeah, they're linked with Racing. They are also linked with Racing, which has just won a championship, the Copa Sudamericana. So a big shout out to Racing fans out there, including you, Lu.
Lucía (13:28.431)
Yeah, yes of course. So well, SBC got to talk about this bill with the leader of vetting industry here in Argentina and also in Latin America in general and they stated that as a company they support regulating online gaming markets of course and they believe that a robust license system coupled with reasonable and effective regulation
ensures a sustainable balance between public concerns at the benefit of the industry. blanket ban have historically not achieved these objectives, but instead often lead to unintended consequences, such as pushing players towards unlicensed and unregulated operators. We know that this happened
in Spain when they tried to prohibit all kinds of advertising, illegal gaming grew while licensed operators suffered the consequences. So Bettson also said that while they acknowledged the importance of regulating various aspects of the market, including advertising, they emphasized that marketing should be allowed
within clearly defined regulatory limits. So they also hoped for a collaborator, a collaborator, and they also hoped for a collaborative dialogue with the stakeholders to create a framework of well-regulated online gaming marketing in Argentina. As we said, in this debate, the industry should be included, right?
Fernando Noodt (15:21.646)
Yes, absolutely. Specifically the compliant and regulated companies like Bettson. And that's something that lawmakers said over and over again when opposing the bill. Like this bill is actually playing in favor of the unlicensed illegal operators that actually target minors and that actually target players in the professional sports to...
conduct fraud in betting to do match fixing schemes. And this scenario, the scenario of the match fixing situation in Argentina has perfectly set the context for this bill to be discussed, like to have these little things to grasp from. And I think they need to understand, lawmakers I mean, that they are...
These are related to illegal operators and there have been some match fixing scandals over the last few months or throughout the year in the lower divisions of Argentinian football, but the top flight has also been targeted according to local media over the last few days and weeks. And the spotlight is on Godoy Cruz, which is a team from Mendoza to the west of the country. Many of you may know Mendoza for its great wines and its proximity with the
Andes Mountains and so now you may know it of course because Daniel Oldra which was his their former manager resigned and said that he If he can't trust his players, he can no longer be in football. That's what he said. So he like Laid out that suspicion about what their players were doing. Of course, the players denied everything recently they went out on the media and said they are
staining our names, they are saying wrongful things and things that didn't happen and everyone can go on social media and say whatever they want and everyone will believe it and of course they deny it but Daniel Daldras said that he apparently didn't trust his players anymore and he said and I quote with the issue of betting the essence of football has been lost this is a different football it is not what you saw in the neighborhood like in the the potrero like we call it where the where the kids play
Fernando Noodt (17:47.084)
You see it with Deportivo Riestra, the team where this streamer spring, we talked about the last episode played and nobody says anything. It doesn't matter at all. So he's certainly targeting betting as a reason for leaving the team. So even though players say, okay, we have nothing to do with this. The words from from Aldra are certainly suspicious and
media has picked this up and of course lawmakers have picked it up as well to discuss this current bill and there's also an investigation on a referee who was removed after allegedly accepting money to fix matches in the lower divisions of Argentinian football league.
Lucía (18:31.087)
Yes, well, minors participating in illegal gaming sites and match fixing are a reality here in Argentina that we have to address. And recently, the city of Buenos Aires legislator Facundo Del Gaiso has filed a criminal complaint for scams and alleged match manipulation against referee Nicolas Jara.
He has also denounced national director of refereeing Federico Belligoy and Argentinian football association, La Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, AFA, treasurer Pablo Tobin Hino. The complaint follows the AFA's removal of Jara over suspicions of match fixing in the third and fourth divisions of the national football pyramid. Jara is accused of accepting a
to 7,000 in crypto currency to influence match outcomes and the complaint over match fixing later became a bill to help prevent referees from betting. So this is the situation right now in football.
Fernando Noodt (19:34.132)
chill chill.
Fernando Noodt (19:55.72)
Yeah, of course you can read all about this subscribing to SBC Noticias newsletter. Go to SBCNoticias.com and subscribe of course to our newsletter that goes every weekday. thank you Lou for breaking down this news and right after this break we will go to Ricardo Assis editor for SBC Noticias Brazil about the news in the country.
Fernando Noodt (20:24.03)
that.
Fernando Noodt (20:28.968)
But didn't we stop like two or three minutes?
Lucía (20:33.543)
I gave you lot of work today.
Fernando Noodt (20:41.222)
Okay, then maybe I can talk about the bill. I'm sorry, Ricardo, we made you lose like 20 minutes of your life. But maybe I can talk about the bill, the bill that Lu just mentioned. Lu mentioned the bill just now. Okay. Okay, so.
Ricardo Assis (21:00.005)
Ok, you can talk about it, so I'll leave. I'll just leave. No problem, no problem. It happens, guys. Glad to help. Bye.
Fernando Noodt (21:03.602)
Yeah, you can leave. Okay, thank you Ricardo. Thank you mate.
Lucía (21:10.406)
You got you got to experience the podcast live
Fernando Noodt (21:13.4)
Hahaha
Ricardo Assis (21:13.724)
Bye guys
Fernando Noodt (21:18.537)
Okay, so whenever you're ready, I'll just pick up from where Lou left and you can just scratch that whole thing I just said and I'll pick up from where Lou left and mention the build and then, yeah.
Fernando Noodt (21:36.575)
check my notes because apparently i didn't take notes for this i was sure i had sorry about this here it is
Fernando Noodt (21:52.255)
Yes, lawmaker Facundo Del Gaiso has actually proposed a bill to have referees file income statements before AFA, before the Argentinian FA, to detect potential unlawful earnings and of course investigate if there were any earnings that were suspicious, so the authorities can go and investigate whether this has anything to do with match fixing or another.
potential crime.
We still have to remember that Dalgaizo is a lawmaker from the city of Buenos Aires so his proposals of course are important because he's a lawmaker, he was voted by the people and it can have a significant impact on the reality of Argentina and every industry like sports and betting industries but of course it is kind of limited so we will see if this bill actually gets traction, gains traction to
get turned into law and referees have to actually file their income statements before the authorities in order to prevent match fixing because it has been an issue certainly in Argentina, especially in the lower divisions. But like we talked before, it has also reached the first division. Apparently, of course, this is all alleged news, alleged situations.
Of course have to wait for the justice to determine whether people have been involved in this type of match fixing schemes. But that has been all for today in iGaming Daily. Thank you Lou very much for breaking this news with me and the rest of the audience. Thank you very much Anaya Macdonald for producing this episode and being so patient with us and to our listeners out there. Thank you very much. Please remember to subscribe to SBC Noticias newsletter and keep up to date with
Fernando Noodt (23:49.902)
this news and other news we report on a weekly basis and we will catch you in the next one. Goodbye.
Lucía (24:00.179)
At some point in the intro did you mention Ricardo appearing in the episode? I don't remember.
Fernando Noodt (24:05.643)
I don't think so, no.