City of Buenos Aires greenlights new tax on gambling

Last week, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires Council passed a bill towards the creation of the Fund on Integration and Social Development (FIDES), whose resources will come from a 2% collection on all prizes from electronic and/or electromechanical gambling devices. Public or private entities operating slots will act as collection agents.

The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires Council approved the creation of the Fund on Integration and Social Development (FIDES) aimed at supporting national infrastructure, maintenance and assistance programs in health, education and welfare.

The budget will be allocated annually by the local administration, factoring in donations and private legacies, in addition to 2% on from electronic and/or electromechanical gambling devices. Operators, public or private, will act as collection agents.

As read the fundamentals of the project submitted by the Executive, the prevention of gambling addiction "is one of the mainstays in the agenda of the Lottery of the City of Buenos Aires, given that this public health issue entails individual and social impact."

Currently, dedicated City of Buenos Aires telephone lines assist people who reach out in relation to pathological gambling and this new tax also aims at discouraging the use of slot machines.

During the debate in the precincts, Paula Villalba (VJ), President of the Budget Committee, spoke as an informant member and delved into the social purpose of this new source of revenue, as well as the benefits of joining forces against gambling addiction.

These arguments were emphatically rejected by her peers Roy Cortina (PS), Inés Gorbea (Ev) and Marcelo Depierro (MC), who sustained that the amount of money that will be deducted by this new tax is 'ridiculously low' if the aim is discouraging gambling, and does not cover social needs. The bill was, however, passed after receiving 33 positive votes from the Vamos Juntos party against 25 negative votes from the Opposition.