Online betting: weight players, cross accusations and a sector that believes that it will not be dealt with

“I have the slightest hope that this will not be dealt with. I think we can get there to be no debate on Wednesday." The phrase belongs to the UCR legislator, Marcelo Cossar, one of the fiercest opponents of the initiative to legalize online betting in Córdoba. A project that entered parliamentary discussion a few weeks ago with the encouragement of five provincial opposition legislators: Orlando Arduh, radical and head of the Together for Change bloc; and the four PRO parliamentarians, Darío Capitani, Silvia Paleo, Alberto Ambrosio and Raúl Recalde.

The five, in the sights of both the rest of the opposition, as well as the ruling party to see the movements that will take place from here until Tuesday, when a new committee meeting will take place after the one last Thursday that took place the controversy of the non-entry of the press to the debate.

What happens on Tuesday –and it will be necessary to see with what presences- will help to reveal if Wednesday is treated and approved or not. In the ruling party, where there was no public demonstration around the project, they are analyzing various factors to see how far the initiative is progressing.

Darts that aim at the PRO. Online betting is regulated in 16 districts throughout the country, including Caba and the province of Buenos Aires, under the management of Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and María Eugenia Vidal, respectively. Places where, although the legislative discussion took place a few years ago (and with the support of the Civic Coalition, for example), the implementation of a business that could move, between the two districts, no less than 100 billion pesos, started on December 9.

However, for those who reject the project in Córdoba, the start of the business in Buenos Aires with the haste of the discussion here is not a minor fact. And the darts are aimed, not only at the radical legislator Arduh, but also at the PRO almost as a whole.

In the first place, because unlike radicalism, the yellows came out en bloc to support the initiative; and, secondly, because there are several terminals in common between the national references in space and some gaming czars, such as Daniel Angelici.

“This very week there was a photo of Francisco Quintana with Angelici. 'Fran' is a small table at the national level of the party, a key cog in Fundación Pensar and 'el Tano' has a good part of the business in Buenos Aires”, said a source from the coalition to PROFILE CORDOBA. And he also pointed to those who are not part of the PRO in the Unicameral, but who did not demonstrate to reject the project either. “The thing about (Javier) Pretto is weird. He says he is against it, but he does not sign the document with the rest of the coalition parties. He is the president of his force," added the same person.

Here, the main front that is open to Angelici and his relationship with the PRO is Elisa Carrió, the head of the Civic Coalition that ordered to stop the possibility of gambling with a credit card in Caba and tries to deactivate the debate In cordoba.

In the Unicameral, his party has only one seat, with Cecilia Irazusta, who came out very hard this week to publicly denounce that they tried to use one of her gambling projects "as a screen for the approval of online gambling." In fact, the commission was called to discuss it and the legislator spoke with a senior official of the Unicameral to deactivate the call.

Radical reaction. In addition to the rejection, outside the Legislature, of all the parties that make up JxC with the exception of PRO, within the legislature they had a very firm position of rejection of Cossar and Dante Rossi. The Alfonsinista pointed to the poverty rates in Córdoba during the week, he said in the commission that it cannot be approved because "it is something that exists." "With this argument, drugs are also a scourge in many neighborhoods and no one would think of legalizing it," Rossi said at the commission.

Meanwhile, Cossar acknowledged to this newspaper that "this seeks to legalize betting" and adhered to the message of the Pastoral "this seeks to take away from the poor to return only a little of how much they are going to get."

The two tried last week to have the bill removed from legislative treatment, and Arduh called them undemocratic. Even with Cossar there was marked tension in parliamentary work, later in the session and on Thursday in the commission.

The move that some are starting to weave is to discuss Arduh's affiliation to the UCR, which could trigger an even more severe crisis.

The PJ stance. Peronism preserves hermeticism and sees how the play is developing. In any case, a referent of the party in the Unicameral, recognized in off to this newspaper that they do not see with bad eyes to summon religious referents on Tuesday to detail the project. Chance that other offices dismiss. "This is not the time to get into tension with an archbishop who just took office," acknowledged an official who looked askance at what happened in Chubut last week.

Aside from that, they believe that Arduh leads a group, that there are sectors that are trying to destabilize him as head of the bloc, and he added about the opposition: "I never saw them with such strong accusations."

Equally, in the PJ there could be at least five abstentions: Mariana Caserio, Miguel Maldonado, Carlos Alesandri, Walter Saieg and Carlos Presas.

Heavy weights. “Here the door opens to an Angelici, to a Cristóbal López, to the continuity of Roggio. Seriously heavy guys can come in”, acknowledged an important source of JxC. And he adds that in other districts they function as joint ventures with international partners, something similar to what is being proposed in Córdoba. "There are not many who can prove a record, there are not many names and we know them all," they said from the Civic Coalition.

The project estimates five licensees that would open the game to more and a 20-year concession. In the province of Buenos Aires there are seven 15-year licensees; and in Caba there is no limit to participation.

A key week begins. Place your bets…