Boasting the third largest Spanish-speaking gaming market in the world, Argentina is regarded as a key market for international gambling operators seeking to break into South America.

Politicians in Buenos Aires are set to vote this week on two separate measures that are set to dramatically expand gambling in Argentina’s capital city and in the wider provincial area. If passed, observers believe significant new opportunities should emerge for online gaming operators, with new slot machines also set to be approved as local governments look to plug gaping budget shortfalls.

The Buenos Aires provincial government’s decision not to renew Codere’s licence for its bingo hall in the city of La Plata could knock up to €50m off the overall value of the Madrid-based company, analysts believe. The company’s current market cap stands at approximately €435m.

Last minute changes to a major fiscal reform package approved in Buenos Aires last week saw a 70 percent rise in taxes applied to gross receipts for bingo and slot machine games. The hike is likely to hit the province’s largest bingo operator Codere, while rivals in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires will remain unaffected.

Last week, Mario Das Neves, Governor of the Argentine Province of Chubut, announced a 120 percent increase on fees levied over gaming businesses operating within Chubut. The Governor’s announcement has led several political leaders in Argentina to request a general tax hike for the gaming industry across the country – sparking concern amongst operators in Argentina’s booming gambling market.

Madrid-based gaming firm Codere has obtained a court injunction to prevent the closure of its flagship bingo hall operation in Argentina.

Political attacks focusing on the relationship between local gambling interests and Argentina’s former president Nestor Kirchner have caused two major expanded gambling initiatives in the greater Buenos Aires area to be shelved as lawmakers instead approve new taxes on gambling revenues in the Argentine capital.

Opposition politicians in Buenos Aires province have lambasted Governor Daniel Scioli over his decision to renew seven lucrative casino and bingo licences without opening a public tender process.

Mayor Mauricio Macri has submitted plans to claim a higher proportion of gambling revenues from Buenos Aires’ racetrack and floating casinos for the municipal government in a move likely to fuel further speculation surrounding racetrack operations inside and outside of the city.

The chief financial officer of Spanish gaming firm Codere has accused the provincial government of Buenos Aires of acting ‘arbitrarily’ against the company by rejecting Codere’s application to renew the licence for its flagship La Plata bingo hall.