Argentina courts issue landmark gambling rulings in Entre Ríos and Bahía Blanca

In Entre Ríos, a 37-year-old man from Santa Elena has received the province's first conviction for operating clandestine gambling. Following a complaint by the Instituto de Ayuda Financiera a la Acción Social (Iafas), Judge Ramón Lell of the La Paz Court of Guarantees and Transition sentenced the individual to three years of suspended imprisonment. The investigation revealed an illegal online casino betting system that utilized third-party “cashiers” to manage transactions. The case was notably triggered by an interview the suspect gave to a local news portal, in which he spontaneously described his operational structure.

Separately, in Bahía Blanca, a judicial ruling has ordered Bingo Bahía and El Chalero SA to pay a significant indemnity to a gambler. The court ruled in favor of a man who, in August 2022, won over 22 million pesos on a slot machine, only to be told by the establishment that the ticket was a machine error. Judge María Selva Fortunato ordered the payment of the original prize plus inflation adjustments and interest, a total that could reach approximately 400 million pesos. The ruling also addresses claims of discrimination after the establishment allegedly barred the man from entering following his legal action.