Argentinian marketing expert and social media influencer Agustina Cabaleiro recently disclosed in a video to her 537,000 Instagram followers how online gambling companies attract content creators to promote their services amidst tightening regulations and economic hardships.
Cabaleiro revealed the dual structure of the Argentine gambling market: licensed platforms comply with regulations, pay taxes, and provide addiction warnings; unlicensed operators, however, use encrypted communications to bypass regulations, lacking basic consumer protections. These unlicensed platforms often attract users with narratives like "gambling saves family finances," exploiting social anxieties to market their games.
For creators, endorsing gambling platforms has become a choice of high remuneration but great controversy. Cabaleiro pointed out that some illegal platforms offer up to $200,000 per event in revenue sharing, far exceeding standard brand collaboration levels. Some bloggers even distribute gambling links via private messages to evade platform policies and regulatory scrutiny.
In terms of regulation, Argentine authorities have required influencers to publicly label risks when promoting gambling and restrict direct links to illegal platforms. Some content creators have started to turn to "vague" promotions, such as distributing information through private chats and indirect placements to continue monetization.
Cabaleiro candidly stated that although she occasionally participates in gambling for entertainment, she has always refused related endorsements: "There is a fundamental difference between personal choice and publicly guiding fans to gamble." Her statements shed light on a rapidly commercializing but increasingly uncontrollable social media gambling ecosystem.
