Argentine prosecutor shuts province’s online gambling site

A Buenos Aires prosecutor has shut down an Argentine provincial lottery operator’s online gambling site for allegedly taking bets outside its jurisdictional borders.

In 2015, the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos of the State Society (IPLyC) in the province of Misiones launched Misionbet.com.ar, which offered sports betting, casino and poker products to provincial residents.

This week, the site was shut down on the order of Martin Lapadú, the head of the Complex Cases Investigation Unit of the West Fiscal Unit of Buenos Aires. Lapadú accused Misionbet’s operators of illegally accepting customers from beyond the province’s borders, including from Buenos Aires.

Lapadú ordered banks and payment processors to refrain from handling any transactions with Misionbet until the matter is resolved. An estimated ARS 460m (US $28.6m) in customer deposits has reportedly been frozen via the prosecutor’s order.