Is online gambling legal in Argentina?

Running an unlicensed site is a crime, but sites without an Argentine licence still reach players here, and courts keep ordering them blocked. Playing on one is not a federal offence; we have not checked the provinces' own rules on this. We found no federal tax on casino and betting winnings as such; instead the site takes a tax of 2.5% to 15% out of each online deposit. Lottery prizes are taxed at 31% of 90% of the prize before you are paid. For help with gambling, SEDRONAR's free, anonymous line 141 covers all addictions.

1. 1ALEA: Plataformas de juego online autorizadas en Argentina (list by jurisdiction)
2. 2Decreto 95/2018 (DNU), InfoLEG
3. 3Código Penal de la Nación (Ley 11.179, T.O. 1984 actualizado), InfoLEG consolidated text

Gambling with crypto: Set by each province. Federally, banks and payment providers may not carry out or facilitate crypto-asset operations that no national authority has authorised.

You must be 18 (set by each province) to gamble online in Argentina, for online casino, sports betting and lottery alike. No federal gambling age: each province and the City sets it for its own licensees. In the provincial reports, Buenos Aires Province, the City, Córdoba, La Rioja, Mendoza and San Juan (online) state 18; Santa Fe bars minors without printing a number. Federal law treats anyone under 18 as a minor, and every gambling advertisement must carry '+18'.

Online bets: the bettor bears a federal tax on the net value of each deposit into the gaming account, collected by the operator when it credits the deposit, or by the payment provider where no Argentine operator takes part: 5% with a resident operator registered with ARCA, 2.5% where that operator also passes the investment and jobs test, 7.5% with a resident operator that is not registered, 10% where a foreign party takes part and is registered, and 15% where it is not registered or sits in a non-cooperative or low-tax jurisdiction. It is a tax on deposits, not on stakes or winnings. Lottery, rifa and sports-pool prizes (horse racing excluded): 31% of the net prize, which the Law fixes at 90% of the prize, withheld by the organiser; ARCA's procedure exempts a prize whose net amount is ARS 1,200 or less, and no later updated amount was found. The Law excludes quiniela prizes, although ARCA's procedure still names quinielas. Casino, slots, sports-bet and online-game winnings: no federal tax as such; whether a habitual bettor's winnings count as income is not settled in the tax law.

About 40 sites on ALEA's industry list, not a licence register in Argentina, as of 30 Oct 2026.

No national regulator: each of the 24 provinces and the City of Buenos Aires licenses its own. Always check that a site is licensed by the body that covers where you play before depositing. The list below is kept by an industry association; it is not a regulator register.

List of authorised sites (an industry list, not a regulator register)The licensing bodies

Prominent operators in Argentina

A site missing from the list may still hold a provincial licence, and a site on it is licensed only for the jurisdiction it is listed under. A site with no licence from any of the licensing bodies is outside their supervision, so there is no licensing body to complain to.

• ✓
  Check the site is listed for your province

  The provincial lotteries' association, ALEA, lists the authorised sites by province and the City. A licence is valid only in the jurisdiction that issued it.

• ✓
  Look for a .bet.ar address

  Almost every site on ALEA's list uses a .bet.ar address, which is given only to operators on a jurisdiction's register. The address alone does not tell you which province licensed the site.

• ✓
  Adverts must carry the health warning and +18

  Every gambling advert in Argentina must show 'EL JUGAR COMPULSIVAMENTE ES PERJUDICIAL PARA LA SALUD' and '+18'. Influencers must keep it on screen while they talk about a gambling site, and you can report those who do not to the national consumer authority.

Argentina regulates gambling at the state/territory level. Each jurisdiction sets its own rules on online casino, sports betting, taxation and operator licensing.

Compare with other countries →

1. 1

   1. Contact the operator

   Complain to the site first and keep a record. Complaint rules for licensed sites are set by the province or City that licensed them.

2. 2

   2. Complain to the regulator that licensed the site

   Complaints about a licensed site's play, accounts or payouts go to the gambling regulator of the province or City that licensed it. ALEA lists the 24 bodies.

   The 24 provincial and City regulators (ALEA)
3. 3

   3. National consumer channel

   The Ventanilla Federal Única de Reclamos takes consumer claims from the whole country and routes each to the province or City with jurisdiction. Consumer arbitration (SNAC) is voluntary for the business. Whether the consumer authorities accept a claim about a licensed bet has not been tested.

   Defensa del Consumidor

• Myth

  A site that accepts Argentine players is legal for me.
  Reality

  Only a site authorised by a province or the City of Buenos Aires is licensed, and a licence covers only that jurisdiction's territory. Many sites without an Argentine licence still take players here; courts keep ordering them blocked. Check the provincial lotteries' list of authorised sites for where you play.

• Myth

  My winnings are taxed.
  Reality

  We found no federal tax on casino and betting winnings as such. Online, a tax of 2.5% to 15% is taken out of each deposit instead. Lottery and sports-pool prizes are taxed at 31% of 90% of the prize, withheld before you are paid.

• Myth

  A .bet.ar address means the site is licensed where I live.
  Reality

  .bet.ar names are given only to operators on a jurisdiction's register, but each licence covers one jurisdiction. The same brand runs separate sites for different provinces, so check that the site you use is listed for yours.