Online Casinos Booted
The Argentinean government is not very keen on allowing all of the international
online casinos to enter the nation’s gambling market and offer internet gambling
services. Several major betting and gambling groups have attempted to penetrate
the South American market through Argentina, but the Attorney Office in Buenos
Aires is fiercely fighting the influx of online casino gambling sites. The AO
has sets its sites on 888 Holdings most recently. 888 has questionable legal
licensing to operate internet gambling sites in the country. The AO though
claims that laws in the city of Buenos Aires ban internet gambling and give the
internet companies and the government the right to block online gambling at the
server level so that residents cannot access the 888.com site.
Other online casino gambling groups that have encountered similar issues with
the Argentinean government include Victor Chandler and Bwin. The companies have
been taken to the courts by the AO in Buenos Aires and a court ruling there has
set a questionable legal precedent that forces the online casinos out of the
market. The Argentinean media have picked up on the issue and have begun to
really press the issue in the papers. The AO though has a plan to eradicate the
internet gambling and is aggressively fighting the internet gambling companies –
he publicized the full court ruling that outlines the details of the courts
decision to uphold a block on online gambling sites in the market – appeals to
the ban are still in the process.
For 888.com/Cassava Enterprises, this legal problem will likely force the online
casino gambling group to geo-block residents of Buenos Aires from their servers,
which will most effectively block the residents from accessing the gambling
sites. The foreign gambling groups are fighting these restrictions in Buenos
Aires, but at this point the strength is on the side of the AO. |