Argentine gaming representatives discuss regulation at IAGR conference in Lima

Representatives of three Argentine gaming bodies took part in the 2026 annual conference of the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR), held in Lima, Peru, from 19 to 22 October, according to a report on the event. The delegation comprised Ida López, president of the Asociación de Loterías Estatales Argentinas (ALEA); Jesús Mariano Acevedo, president of Lotería de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (LOTBA); and Osvaldo Hillar, president of the Instituto Provincial de Regulación de Apuestas (IPRA) of Tierra del Fuego.

For López, the conference was her first annual meeting since joining the IAGR board. She spoke in two programme sessions. In the opening plenary, titled “El mandato del regulador en un mercado conectado”, she shared a discussion with representatives of Denmark, Brazil, the United States and Ireland on changes in the global regulatory environment, the expansion of illegal markets and developments linked to artificial intelligence. Data-based supervision and the need to improve information exchange between regulators were also addressed.

López also took part in the panel “Latinoamérica en detalle: modelos regulatorios, desarrollo del mercado y lecciones prácticas”, which compared the experiences of jurisdictions in the region. The exchange covered progress in legalisation, enforcement of rules, consumer protection and market design, as well as difficulties posed by language barriers and the need to strengthen cross-border cooperation.

“Agradezco la posibilidad de formar parte de estos espacios, en los que reguladores y sector privado nos reunimos para intercambiar conocimiento, nutrirnos de la experiencia de cada jurisdicción y construir posiciones comunes de cara al futuro”, López said in a post on LinkedIn.

Acevedo spoke on the panel “Mercados de predicción, contratos sobre eventos y arbitraje regulatorio”, which focused on digital products that may carry characteristics and risks similar to those of betting while being marketed under other names. The session examined the challenges such platforms pose for authorities, particularly when they operate in jurisdictions where they are not authorised.

The LOTBA president presented Buenos Aires's experience with Polymarket. LOTBA had filed a complaint over the platform's operation without authorisation, which led to a judicial investigation and an order blocking access in Argentina, along with measures to restrict its applications. In Lima, Acevedo described LOTBA's detection and monitoring work and pointed to risks associated with services operating outside regulatory frameworks, without equivalent identity and age controls or the guarantees required of authorised operators.

“Nuestra responsabilidad como reguladores es entender esos cambios y asegurarnos de que la innovación no deje atrás la protección de las personas”, Acevedo said during his intervention, according to information distributed by LOTBA. The panel also addressed consumer protection, sports integrity, responsible advertising and conflicts arising when digital products cross different jurisdictions.

LOTBA's institutional agenda included meetings with representatives of the United Kingdom's Gambling Commission, Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) and other international bodies. During a seminar organised by GLI, the City of Buenos Aires's work on responsible gambling was highlighted.

The IAGR agenda included debates on artificial intelligence, illegal gambling, consumer protection and cooperation between regulators, with attention to the role of regulators amid the expansion of digital products and illegal markets and to international cooperation for supervising an increasingly connected industry.