The Lottery of the City of Buenos Aires (LOTBA) sees proliferation of offshore gambling firms as the biggest threat to the regulated lottery and gambling industry, not just in its own city but across Argentina.
In a recent interview with SBC News, Ezequiel Dominguez, Director of LOTBA, discussed the biggest regulatory challenges facing the Argentine capital city – which like other regions of Argentina possesses its own local gambling market.
An autonomous body of the local government, LOTBA is both the lottery operator of the City of Buenos Aires, while also regulating and taxing all gambling activity in the city. It also operates sports betting.
As both a regulator and operator, LOTBA comes up against similar challenges to many a gambling authorities across the world – not least combating illegality. In Dominguez’s view, the biggest test for LOTBA right now is “the growth of illegal offerings in digital environments”.
“There has been an expansion of unauthorised platforms, offshore sites, the use of social media and influencers to attract users — especially young people — and new models that attempt to present themselves as financial or technological products in order to avoid regulatory controls.
“Added to this is the speed at which technology evolves. Regulators must constantly adapt to new payment methods, cryptocurrencies, anonymity mechanisms, and transnational operations.”
Adding another layer to this is a cultural challenge, he told SBC News, this being “enforcing the idea that legal gaming is not simply a commercial activity, but one that requires controls, prevention, and traceability to protect users”.
He continued: “At LOTBA, we work on three pillars: strengthening legal and responsible gaming, combating illegal gaming together with the judiciary, and regulatory modernisation to support innovation without losing oversight.”
Dealing with illegal gambling is of course not the only issue on LOTBA”s plate. The regulator has been working to curb underage gambling, for example.
A topic that caught global headlines this year though was one familiar to many gambling industry observers – predictions markets. The platforms running said markets, most famously Kalshi and Polymarket, have been global powerhouses.
Kalshi has been valued at $22bn (£16.6bn) while Polymarket is targeting an $11bn valuation. The concept of predictions is controversial, however, and many regulators across the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America have equated them with illegal gambling.
In March, LOTBA pursued blocking action against Polymarket. When this was granted, Argentina became the first South American country to block a prediction markets platform.
“It is an issue that raises concern because many of these platforms present dynamics very similar to traditional betting, although they attempt to position themselves outside gaming regulatory frameworks.
“When a person risks money on an uncertain event with the expectation of making a profit, the state has the responsibility to analyse whether that activity should fall under existing regulation.
“The discussion is not only conceptual or legal. It also involves issues related to user protection, preventing underage access, identity controls, anti-money laundering measures, and operational transparency.”
Read the full interview with Ezequiel Dominguez on SBC News
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Ezequiel Dominguez and many other high profile gambling industry giures will be speaking at the SBC Summit Americas, taking place from 9-11 June 2026 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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