Argentina makes illegal online betting a federal crime

For the first time an Argentine court has applied an amendment to Article 301 of the Criminal Code on the owners of Eligra Solutions SRL, Miljugadas SRL and by extension Miljugadas.com, Miljugadas1.com, Miljugadas2.com and Miljugadas55.com, Quinton Gregori Marshall, Diego Israel Céspedes, Federico Fernández de Francesco and Margarita Teresa Boeiro, who were investigated in July 2017 following raids on, and the subsequent closure of, offices in the cities of Oberá and Posadas (see previous reports).

The amendment to Article 301, whose reform was applied by Buenos Aires court judge Rodolfo Clérici, makes the operation of an illegal online betting operation a federal crime and places an exit restriction on defendants who must establish a domicile in the country which must be accredited by police authorities once a month.  In addition, defendants are prohibited from communicating with each other during the legal process.

“That illegal bets are no longer a minor conduct but a federal crime allows to impose penalties of up to six years in prison. It also provides tools to investigate this crime throughout the country,” Chamber prosecutor Martín Lapadú, said.

According to Lapadú, the defendants will be interviewed while property seized in the raids is studied.  “We expect an oral trial to begin this year,” he said.

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