Argentina Elects Far-Right Populist, Milei

On Sunday November 19, 2023, citizens of Argentina were divided by a major decision about the future of the country’s government. In the final run-off election for president, current Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa was beaten by Javier Milei, widely considered a far-right, populist candidate with endorsement from figures such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. Though his stance on gambling is not yet clear, Milei has strong views on the country’s central banking system as well as the introduction of bitcoin and the US dollar as national currencies.

Argentina’s new president-elect is pro-bitcoin as a form of currency.
?Pierre Borthiry – Peiobty/Unsplash

Could bitcoin become a common currency in Argentina?

Argentina conducted its initial general election, including for the role of president, on October 22, 2023. Though no candidate took away enough of a majority to win the race outright, the field narrowed between Massa, a candidate known for his role in the current administration, and Milei, an outsider who vowed to cut through red-tape, touting a chainsaw at rallies to drive his point home.

Though polls gave Milei a slight edge over Massa, many voters were hopeful that Massa would prevail, given Milei’s far-right views and allegiances with other populist presidents that have recently been ousted. Young voters see Milei as anti-progressive and a step backwards for a country that has been a consistent democracy only for the last 40 years.

However, Milei prevailed, likely exactly because Argentina’s population is troubled by the status quo. Massa was associated with the country’s current economic crisis, in which inflation has increased by 140%-145% compared to the same period last year, and around 40% of people live in poverty.

Milei will be an altogether different option, which 55% of voters (voting is obligatory in Argentina) hope will change things for the better. His opponents worry about his social views; he has expressed himself to be anti-abortion and anti-gay rights, and has even taken shots at the Pope, who hails from the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.

It is unclear what Milei’s stances on gambling will be. An array of gambling verticals are available in Argentina, including land-based casinos, horse racing and lottery. Buenos Aires has given out licenses to several online gaming platforms, allowing them to operate within the province in the last year, and other provinces are following suit.

Though former Brazilian president Bolsonaro distanced himself from gambling in order to appeal to religious voters in the run up to his last campaign, Milei is a wildcard. What is known is that Milei is pro-bitcoin and has suggested that he would eliminate the Argentine peso altogether in favor of the US dollar.

He also vowed to eliminate the central bank and get rid of centralized finance in favor of a finance system controlled by the private sector. Though he hasn’t yet formalized a wish to use bitcoin as official currency in Argentina, it could be a complementary currency. In general, Milei seems in favor of embracing radical shifts in policy where possible.

The favoring of bitcoin may have interesting consequences for gambling, since cryptocurrencies are increasingly used in online gambling around the world — though they are not accepted by all gaming platforms nor in all nations. The major downside of crypto-based payments is, though they may give a sense of privacy to the player, they eliminate a safety risk.

It’s more difficult to track crypto payments and to make sure that, for example, a player is over the legal betting age. It also makes self-exclusion registries difficult to enforce. Time will tell whether Milei’s plans are embraced across the government, and what the effects on gambling in Argentina will be.

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