Argentina’s National Communications Agency (Enacom) has ordered internet service providers to block 251 unlicensed online betting sites following a court order in Buenos Aires province.
The order grew out of a criminal investigation by the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office for Cybercrime Investigations (Ufeic) in the San Isidro judicial district of Buenos Aires province. The unit is led by prosecutor Patricio Ferrari. The case was opened after a complaint filed by the Argentine Chamber of Casino, Bingo and Annexed Halls (Cascba).
Judicial sources told La Nación that the sites were not certified to operate games of chance and had no controls to verify the age or identity of users. They said that, in most cases, players who appeared to win were unable to collect their winnings. The platforms were also used as recruitment grounds for adolescents, who were drawn in first as bettors and then offered roles as cashiers in exchange for small fees.
Ferrari said the investigation was coordinated with the Provincial Lottery and Casino Institute of Buenos Aires province (IPLYC), which licenses legal online operators in the province. He said public and private bodies needed to work together to combat what he described as childhood gambling addiction.
A 2025 survey by UNICEF Argentina found that one in four adolescents aged between 12 and 17 had bet online, equivalent to more than half a million minors nationwide. The unit said unlicensed operators had taken advantage of that vulnerability.
The action follows an earlier Ufeic investigation in June 2024, then led by prosecutor Alejandro Musso, after which Enacom blocked 55 sites that were broadcasting sports events illegally. A 2024 federal bill that would have given the national government clearer powers to block unlicensed gambling sites passed first reading in the Chamber of Deputies but later lost parliamentary status.
In December the president of the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos, Gonzalo Atanasof of Buenos Aires, filed a complaint with the specialized prosecutorial units in the Judicial Departments of Lomas de Zamora, La Matanza, and San Isidro regarding a total of 300 illegal betting sites operating without official authorization in the province of Buenos Aires.
According to a lottery press release, the complaints not only revealed the existence of these illegal platforms but also sought to identify their responsible parties and administrators, aiming to expand the range of criminal charges due to the suspected involvement of these organizations in money laundering and tax evasion.
The post Argentina blocks 251 illegal betting sites after San Isidro cybercrime probe appeared first on G3 Newswire.
Argentina’s National Communications Agency (Enacom) has ordered internet service providers to block 251 unlicensed online betting sites following a court order in Buenos Aires province. The order grew out of a criminal investigation by the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office for Cybercrime Investigations (Ufeic) in the San Isidro judicial district of Buenos Aires province. The unit is…
The post Argentina blocks 251 illegal betting sites after San Isidro cybercrime probe appeared first on G3 Newswire.