LatAm
Online gambling back under consideration in Uruguay
By James Marrison - 17 November 2025
The current government intends to revive the discussion on online gambling during this governmental term, according to reports in Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. Senator Felipe Carballo from the Broad Front (Frente Amplio) has taken the first step by presenting a draft law on the matter to his party’s caucus.
The initiative aims to establish a State Online Gaming Platform, managed by the National Directorate of Lotteries and Betting. This body would be responsible for exploiting, regulating, and controlling online gambling activities. It proposes a “mixed model” where the State “directly exploits part of the activity” while simultaneously regulating the participation of private operators.
Additionally, the project creates a National Agency for Online Gaming Regulation as a public non-state entity to consolidate competencies currently scattered across various State agencies.
The newly formed agency would be responsible for granting online gaming licenses to private operators, supervising platforms, and transactions, implementing a National Digital Register of Bettors, regulating advertising and marketing practices, coordinating public health and digital education actions, and imposing administrative sanctions and revoking licenses.
It also establishes the bettor registry, in which everyone participating in online betting must be registered. The text also establishes the exploitation of online gaming for profit without authorization as a crime.
In the statement of reasons, the text notes that since the 19th century, Uruguay has maintained a model where the State holds a monopoly on gambling. However, it highlights that technological advancements and the digitalization of services have “deeply modified the ways users interact with gaming.”
“This change of paradigm has placed the Uruguayan State at a disadvantage in front of a globalized market, hampering its capacity for supervision, taxation, and control. The expansion of transnational platforms, together with the use of cryptocurrencies and virtual private networks (VPNs), has decreased the ability to exercise effective authority over a sector that, if left unregulated, can cause significant economic, health, and social damage,” Carballo asserted in his justification for the new law.
He also stated that currently, the only authorized company to operate online sports betting is Supermatch which has created a “de facto private monopoly” However, for Carballo, online gambling also represents an economic opportunity and a health challenge. The project also foresees the establishment of a National Fund for the Prevention and Treatment of Gambling Addiction, aimed at financing assistance programs, research, education, and training.
