One list instead of three
Self-exclusion means asking, of your own free will, to be kept away from gambling.[1] Until now, each of the three provinces kept its own list of people who had done this. Each list applied only inside its own province.[2]
On 30 October, the heads of the three provincial gambling bodies signed an agreement to merge those lists into one regional system. Ida López signed for Mendoza's Provincial Institute of Games and Casinos. Juan Pablo Medina signed for San Juan's Social Action Fund, and Héctor Rodolfo Mazzina for San Luis's Social and Financial Fund.[1] The signing took place in Mendoza.[2]
Under the agreement, any self-exclusion made after the signing counts in all three provinces. That covers places where people gamble in person, and the online platforms the provinces have authorised. People who were already on one of the lists can choose to join the regional system too. The three bodies have up to 120 days to get it working.[1]
"With this reciprocal agreement we widen the protection," López said. People excluded in Mendoza "will not be able to enter the casinos of San Juan and San Luis either", she added. The same will apply the other way round.[1]
Why the provinces needed a deal
Argentina's gambling rules are set province by province. A national decree from 2016 says gambling in the provinces falls fully under their own authority. The national state, it adds, has no say in it.[3]
Together, the three provinces make up Cuyo, a mountainous, wine-growing region in the centre-west of the country.[4] Medina said the deal mattered because the provinces are close to one another. "It is very likely that someone who cannot gamble here in the province of Mendoza goes to San Juan or San Luis," he said.[2]
He also called it "the first experience of this kind" in Argentina. The Mendoza government says no other agreement links the self-exclusion systems of different provinces. Mazzina said the deal leaves room for other districts to join.[1]
Signing up in Mendoza today
Mendoza's list is known as RUAM, from the initials of its Spanish name. A person signs a written promise to stay out of casinos in the province, online gambling platforms, or both. The promise lasts between three months and five years.[5]
Signing in person takes effect at once. Any casino in the province can take it. So can the institute's office at Yrigoyen 31, in the city of Mendoza, on weekdays from 8:00 to 14:00. There is also an online form, but it is not immediate, because some conditions must be met before it applies.[5]
Since 2021, the institute has used face recognition for the list, and every gaming hall had to fit cameras for it.[5] Its programme also offers help from psychologists, psychiatrists and lawyers.[1] The advice line is (0261) 424-7536, on weekdays from 8:00 to 14:00.[5]
Sources
- Government of Mendoza (Argentina) — Juego responsable: Mendoza, San Juan y San Luis firman el primer convenio interprovincial de autoexclusión del país (30 October 2026, Spanish). The signing and who signed, what the agreement covers, the choice for people already on a list, the 120 days, the statements by López, Medina and Mazzina, and the help the Mendoza programme offers. Saved copy (screenshot, 3 November 2026).
- Government of San Juan (Argentina) — Convenio histórico: San Juan, Mendoza y San Luis integran sus registros de autoexclusión del juego (2 November 2026, Spanish). That each province had its own list until now, that the signing took place in Mendoza, and Medina's statement on the provinces being close together.
- Government of Argentina — Decreto 743/2016 (2 June 2016, Spanish). That gambling in the provinces is under their own jurisdiction, with no role for the national state.
- Wikipedia — Cuyo (Argentina) (English). Where the three provinces are.
- Provincial Institute of Games and Casinos of Mendoza (Argentina) — Juego Responsable (Spanish). The RUAM list, the three-month to five-year promise, how to sign up in person or online, face recognition since 2021, and the advice line. Saved copy (screenshot, 3 November 2026).
