A city councilor from the city of Córdoba took the debate on online gambling to the courts. Sergio Ariel Piguillem filed a writ of amparo for delay against the provincial government, after his requests for information on the regulation of virtual betting were not answered within the deadlines established by current regulations. The judicial filing seeks to have the Justice system compel the provincial Executive to provide concrete data on the operation of a market that has been operating under legal protection since late 2024.
Read more Latvia reorganizes gambling and integrates it into the tax system
The origin of the conflict: a request ignored for more than a month
On March 3, Piguillem submitted a request for information through the Government House Registry. The following day, the procedure was digitized and referred to the Lotería de Córdoba Sociedad del Estado, the competent body to respond. However, more than a month passed and the councilor did not receive any formal response.
This inaction constituted, according to the lawsuit, a failure to comply with the deadlines established by Law No. 8.803 on access to public information, which opened the judicial path. The amparo for delay is the legal mechanism provided precisely for these cases: when the administration does not respond in a timely and proper manner, the citizen can turn to the Justice system to demand it do so.
What information Piguillem is demanding from the government of Córdoba
The amparo aims to obtain data on the application of Law No. 10.793, which regulates virtual betting in the territory of Córdoba since October 2024. Among the points demanded are:
- Destination of the fee: what use is made of the funds paid by the licensee companies.
- Awareness actions: what measures the provincial State implemented to inform about the harmful effects of gambling.
- Players Registry: information on its operation and scope.
- License specifications: copy of the documents governing the authorizations granted to operators.
In all cases, this is information that should be publicly accessible as it concerns government acts linked to the management of a resource with direct social impact. However, none of this data was made available to the councilor or the public spontaneously.
Criticism of Governor Llaryora: “They push us to the extreme of having to go to court”
Referring to the judicial filing, Piguillem did not hide his dissatisfaction with the administration of Governor Martín Llaryora:
“Once again they push us to the extreme of having to go to court to obtain basic data.”
Read more Lula proposes closing betting houses and reignites the regulatory debate
The councilor emphasized that the requested documentation is not confidential or sensitive information, but basic data that in a transparent administration should be available to any citizen. He pointed out that transparency is “a pillar of democracy” and that its absence in this case is not an administrative oversight, but a pattern that has already required judicial intervention on previous occasions.
Online gambling in schools and homes: the urgency behind the request
Beyond the institutional conflict, Piguillem based the urgency of his claim on the social consequences that, in his view, online gambling is generating in Córdoba. He warned about the “havoc” that the activity is allegedly causing in schools and homes, which makes it urgent to know what concrete controls the provincial State is applying.
Concern about the impact of online gambling on youth and adolescents is not exclusive to Córdoba: it is a debate repeated in various Argentine provinces and in several countries in the region, where regulatory bodies face pressure to adapt their regulatory frameworks to the speed at which digital access to betting platforms is growing.
Law No. 10.793: the regulatory framework in question
The regulation that Piguillem wants to put under scrutiny came into effect in October 2024 and established the legal regime for virtual betting in the province of Córdoba. Since then, the Lotería de Córdoba Sociedad del Estado has been the body in charge of granting licenses, collecting the corresponding fees, and supervising the activity.
However, the councilor’s judicial action highlights that, almost six months after its implementation, central aspects of the functioning of that law are still not public knowledge. The Justice system’s response will determine whether the provincial government must release that information or if it can continue to withhold it.
Read more United Kingdom: punters reject mandatory affordability checks
