Senator Felipe Carballo has ignited a long-running political debate in Uruguay by submitting a new bill aimed at fundamentally reshaping the country’s online gambling regulation system.
The core of his proposal introduces a mixed operational model for Uruguay where the state would manage a central platform while authorized private companies would participate under a framework of strict rules.
The senator asserts that this overhaul is urgently required to regain state control over online gambling, enhance public health protection, and effectively respond to the rapid expansion of international platforms within the digital landscape.
The new bill positions Uruguay at the center of the online gambling structure, granting it full operational and regulatory control while permitting the licensed involvement of private entities. Carballo’s project calls for the establishment of a State Online Gaming Platform, managed by the National Directorate of Lotteries and Quinielas.
This platform would be responsible for operating, regulating, and controlling all online games of chance nationwide.
The mixed model aims to balance state operation with private sector participation, ensuring adherence to technical, fiscal, and stringent public-health standards. Carballo argues the current situation, where Supermatch is the only approved online sports betting operator under concession, has created a “de facto private monopoly” where the state does not directly benefit from the majority of profits generated.
A second key feature of the bill is the creation of a unified supervisory body, the National Online Gambling Regulation Agency. This autonomous public entity would consolidate the fragmented oversight currently shared by the Casino Directorate, the National Lottery authority, and the telecommunications regulator, Ursec.
The new agency’s duties would include issuing licenses, auditing private platforms, verifying algorithms, supervising financial transactions, and managing advertising rules.
Critically, it would also manage a National Digital Bettors Registry, requiring all online gamblers to be registered. This database would track financial activity and mandate user-set spending limits, with the bill criminalizing any unauthorized operation of an online gambling platform.
The senator emphasizes that public health data necessitates strong regulatory reform, noting that while Uruguay has maintained a state monopoly on games of chance since the nineteenth century, digital technology has drastically altered user behavior.
He warns that the proliferation of international platforms, the use of cryptocurrencies, and VPNs have diminished the state’s capacity to supervise and tax the activity.
For private operators, the proposed mixed model means tight supervision, demanding strict compliance on marketing, technical audits, and responsible gambling tools, with the central state platform serving as the required gateway for all activity.
