Buenos Aires, October 29, 2026. The Buenos Aires City Lottery (LOTBA) and Banco Ciudad signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) through risk analysis, technical information exchange, and joint training programs between the banking sector and the gambling industry.
Argentina tightens AML front against illegal gambling
The agreement was announced by Jesús Acevedo, President of LOTBA, during Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Week. Banco Ciudad is chaired by Guillermo Laje. The partnership covers four areas of cooperation: exchanging knowledge and best practices, conducting risk assessments, identifying suspicious transaction patterns, and providing specialized training for institutional teams.
Guillermo Laje
Acevedo emphasized that prevention requires continuous updates, appropriate tools, and cooperation between institutions, with the aim of improving controls and reducing financial vulnerabilities. The agreement follows LOTBA's completion of its first Independent External Review (IER) of its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Prevention System in September 2026.
The assessment was conducted by specialist Francisco D'Albora, with the participation of Ezequiel Domínguez, LOTBA Director and Compliance Officer, and Carolina Galtieri, Head of its Prevention Unit. The audit examined internal procedures, oversight mechanisms, and risk management in accordance with the regulatory requirements of Argentina's Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), chaired by Matías Gabriel Álvarez, alongside Vice President Patricio Mariano Michlig.
Matías Gabriel Álvarez
The legal framework includes Law No. 25,246, UIF Resolution No. 194/2023, applicable to gambling operators, and UIF Resolution No. 199/2024, concerning financial institutions. Preventive mechanisms include customer identification, transaction monitoring, assessment of the source of funds, and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) where applicable.
The cooperation will strengthen technical capabilities without replacing the individual regulatory obligations of casinos, lotteries, digital betting platforms, and banking institutions. The institutions did not disclose investment amounts, the agreement's duration, training budgets, or the number of suspicious transactions detected.
