The president of the Social Action Fund, Juan Pablo Medina, spoke about the need for regulation.
Argentina.- Three months after the presentation by the Executive of San Juan of a bill to regulate online gambling in the province, from the Social Action Fund, the agency that would be the regulatory authority, there is a call for progress on the legislation to combat the proliferation of illegal sites.
In an interview on Channel 13 of San Juan, Juan Pablo Medina, president of the CAS, explained that currently, there is no regulation in the province of San Juan. "At this moment, in the online world in San Juan, it is anarchy, one could say, it is an anarchic world, it has no type of regulation or control."
And he explained: "We have actively participated in the drafting of a bill that has been sent from the Executive Power to the Chamber of Deputies, which we believe will soon begin or perhaps is already being discussed in committees to see if it is possible for us to have a law that the Social Action Fund as the regulatory authority, can begin to work with legal tools that arise from that norm and allow us to work in collaboration with the Justice to use all the elements in some way intimidating for these sites operated by unscrupulous people."
He also told the media from San Juan: "I believe that the governor gave me a responsibility and I could not tolerate not doing anything to protect the minors of the province. So, gambling, obviously, is a very sensitive, very delicate issue, but it must be addressed."
The head of the agency that regulates gambling in the province also announced that they have started working on the blockages of illegal sites that they have already identified. "We have already identified more than 130 sites that are operating or generating activity in San Juan in an illegal manner, but we need this law to give us the legal framework that determines who is authorized to carry out the activity, who is not, who can play and who cannot," he assured.
In that sense, he explained that in the CAS a division of responsible gambling has been created and they are in the midst of creating a division to fight against illegal and clandestine gambling.
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In July, the governor Marcelo Orrego, sent to the Legislature of San Juan a bill that seeks, on one hand to regulate online gambling in the province and, on the other, to tackle the impact of these practices on teenagers and children.
In the text, which has almost 40 articles, a whole new regulatory scheme is established. Among the highlighted points are the requirements for companies to access licenses that allow them to exploit these bets in a controlled manner by the Provincial Social Action Fund (CAS).
According to the initiative of the Executive Power, the CAS may grant a maximum of five licenses through the public bidding process, in light of the principles of publicity, competition, equality, transparency, and objectivity in accordance with Provincial Law N° 2000-A. No natural or legal person may hold more than one license and only San Juan residents can present themselves to the bidding if they join with large foreign companies.
The licenses may not have a duration longer than 10 years and may be extended for up to five years at most, according to the conditions determined in the regulations or stipulated in the tender conditions. Extensions may not operate automatically, and must be requested from the regulatory authority, 30 business days before the expiration of the license.
