Buenos Aires Province Lottery and Casino Institute have filed criminal complaints against 300 illegal betting platforms, alleging unlicensed gambling operations, money laundering and tax evasion.
The complaints were submitted to specialized prosecutor units in the judicial districts of Lomas de Zamora, La Matanza and San Isidro.
The action follows a cyber patrol operation conducted by institute personnel that tracked the operations and digital methods of the platforms. The complaints request that authorities identify the operators and administrators to expand criminal charges, as investigators suspect involvement in organized money laundering schemes and fiscal evasion.
Gonzalo Atanasof, President of the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos, said: "We are not dealing with simple administrators of illegal pages, but with an organized criminal chain that launders money abroad, has defined roles, evades taxes and operates outside the law."
The investigation revealed that platform administrators frequently change domains to avoid detection, host servers in jurisdictions such as Malta and Curacao and operate from outside Argentina. The complaints also request the National Communications Agency (Enacom) immediately block access to these sites nationwide.
A primary focus of the complaints addresses minor access to these platforms. Atanasof said: "When we talk about betting among adolescents, we must address the problem from two fronts: mental health and security.
"We must prevent gambling addiction, but also block illegal sites that have no controls from anyone and allow access to minors. Today kids are one click away because these illegal casinos allow them access."
The enforcement action represents part of sustained regulatory efforts by the institute. Previous operations included 120 complaints that resulted in 50 raids dismantling organizations operating illegal platforms. The institute also filed more than 100 reports against influencers through Meta under an agreement with the Association of State Lotteries of Argentina (ALEA), which enables the identification and removal of Facebook and Instagram profiles promoting unauthorized betting.
Red Cross joins provincial efforts on youth betting
In a separate initiative announced the same day, Atanasof met with Diego Tipping, President of the Argentinian Red Cross, to coordinate responses to online betting among adolescents.
The organizations reviewed survey data and agreed to expand joint territorial work, develop prevention campaigns targeting families and schools and train the Red Cross teleassistance network to improve early detection of gambling addiction cases among adolescents.
The meeting also included data from a provincial census that gathered more than 90,000 cases to measure the phenomenon and design prevention policies.
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