Investigation · Con la tuya, contribuyente
Courtesy consumption
The State spent nearly 59 million pesos on food and drink comped to casino gamblers. Every purchase was resolved by invoking the “exclusive supplier” exception. The exclusive suppliers were 22 different ones.
spend on article 79764
$ 58.849.923≈ USD 1.47 M · plausibility-capped
Context
What “courtesy consumption” is
The budget line the state casino uses to buy food and drink to give away to its gamblers — in the jargon, a comp: a loyalty incentive calibrated to a player average loss. The DGC says it rests on a 1998 rule and its Resolution 140/2021.
The item hit the press in March 2021 over an $880,000-a-year purchase at the Minas hall. What follows is not that one controversy, but the full aggregate of the rubro — all halls, all years — rebuilt from the official system.
The central finding
An “exclusive” service with 22 suppliers
Method · verified on state procurement
Exception Purchase — TOCAF, Art. 33, item 3
Every award we reviewed was resolved as an Exception Purchase, invoking the exclusive-supplier ground: the route that allows direct contracting, without a tender and without an amount cap, when — and only when — a single, irreplaceable bidder supplies the good or service.
The DGC explains it buys by exception because each hall bar concessionaire holds exclusivity to sell inside that venue. And it partly holds: Nifelar S.A. runs the bar of the state-owned Argentino Hotel; Videst S.A. is a catering firm.
But that moves the question one level up: if the exclusivity comes from the bar concession, how — and with what competition — was each concession awarded? And it does not explain why several suppliers appear in the same period, nor why one bills 4× what others do for the same “unit”.
The evidence · price per unit
The same “unit” ranges from $ 8,333 to $ 211,749
Each dot is a contract. The line marks the median ($ 51,230). In red, Código de Barras SRL: it always bills exactly $ 211,749 — four times the median, unchanged between 2021 and 2024.
Observations
Patterns worth a look
4× the median, unchanged for years
Código de Barras SRL billed exactly $ 211,749 per unit in 2021, 2023 and twice in 2024. Not a peso of movement despite inflation.
The same pool across two rubros
Of the 22 courtesy suppliers, 12 also supply the same buyer breakfast/snack line. A stable circle of caterers.
Ten amounts are multiples of 50,000
10 of 63 lines close on round figures — $ 300,000, $ 2,100,000, $ 5,100,000 — more a pre-agreed sum than a competed price.
A $ 2.5 M award with zero quantity
Purchase 1219789 (2025) records a line with quantity = 0 carrying a total of $ 2,527,322.
One price nearly triples
Naves Cramer went from $ 47,814/unit (2023) to $ 141,667 (May 2026, a $ 5.1 M purchase). Same rubro, no tender.
The statistical detector flags nothing
Of 6,255 price alerts in the base, zero land here: the “UNIT” means nothing physical and the spread buries even the 4× premium.
The evidence · ledger
The 63 lines, one by one
Each row links to its record on the site. Highlighted: Código de Barras flat price and the zero-quantity line.
| Date | Supplier | Qty | Unit price | Total | Method | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-31 | Videst S A | 12 | $ 88.798 | $ 1,1 M | view record | 888124 → |
| 2021-09-09 | Codigo DE Barras Srl | 12 | $ 211.749flat | $ 2,5 M | Compra por Excepción 42/2021 | 893881 → |
| 2021-09-10 | Hernandez Rodales Maria Gimena | 12 | $ 70.833 | $ 850.000 | view record | 888481 → |
| 2022-01-12 | Costa Martinez Ever Marcelo | 1 | $ 30.000 | $ 30.000 | view record | 924591 → |
| 2022-02-17 | Costa Martinez Ever Marcelo | 12 | $ 73.333 | $ 880.000 | view record | 927561 → |
| 2022-03-15 | Costa Martinez Ever Marcelo | 12 | $ 37.500 | $ 450.000 | view record | 931843 → |
| 2022-03-18 | Nifelar S A | 12 | $ 61.475 | $ 737.705 | view record | 899479 → |
| 2022-04-21 | Aleman Garcia Fatima Noemi | 12 | $ 47.814 | $ 573.770 | view record | 930765 → |
| 2022-06-24 | Aleman Garcia Fatima Noemi | 1 | $ 35.246 | $ 35.246 | view record | 954897 → |
| 2022-07-14 | Aleman Garcia Fatima Noemi | 1 | $ 35.246 | $ 35.246 | view record | 954898 → |
| 2023-03-09 | Nifelar S A | 13 | $ 56.747 | $ 737.705 | view record | 993991 → |
| 2023-04-11 | Cafe Del Centro Srl | 36 | $ 16.697 | $ 601.093 | view record | 972066 → |
| 2023-06-29 | Rodriguez Cardozo Matias German | 36 | $ 81.967 | $ 3 M | Compra por Excepción 33/2023 | 1039251 → |
| 2023-06-29 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 36 | $ 47.814 | $ 1,7 M | Compra por Excepción 51/2023 | 1050203 → |
| 2023-07-19 | Tribino Brum Carlos Roberto | 12 | $ 37.568 | $ 450.820 | view record | 1021823 → |
| 2023-07-20 | Codigo DE Barras Srl | 12 | $ 211.749flat | $ 2,5 M | Compra por Excepción 49/2022 | 984499 → |
| 2023-07-28 | Eula Bentancur Andres Alejandro | 36 | $ 8.333 | $ 300.000 | view record | 1049284 → |
| 2023-07-31 | Mendez Martinez Maria Cristina | 36 | $ 58.333 | $ 2,1 M | Compra por Excepción 19/2023 | 1021083 → |
| 2023-07-31 | Anzorena Carrancio Jorge Enrique | 12 | $ 27.322 | $ 327.869 | view record | 1026839 → |
| 2023-07-31 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 12 | $ 51.230 | $ 614.754 | view record | 1026613 → |
| 2023-08-09 | Aleman Garcia Fatima Noemi | 12 | $ 47.814 | $ 573.771 | view record | 984496 → |
| 2023-11-14 | Videst S A | 12 | $ 26.639 | $ 319.672 | view record | 1024135 → |
| 2023-11-29 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 12 | $ 58.060 | $ 696.721 | view record | 1083532 → |
| 2023-12-19 | Videst S A | 2 | $ 61.475 | $ 122.951 | view record | 1099250 → |
| 2023-12-28 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 1 | $ 32.787 | $ 32.787 | view record | 1103368 → |
| 2023-12-28 | Eula Bentancur Andres Alejandro | 1 | $ 11.000 | $ 11.000 | Compra por Excepción 48/2023 | 1103295 → |
| 2023-12-28 | Hernandez Rodales Maria Gimena | 1 | $ 19.080 | $ 19.080 | view record | 1103242 → |
| 2024-01-08 | Paswir S.a | 1 | $ 28.689 | $ 28.689 | view record | 1102936 → |
| 2024-01-08 | Anzorena Carrancio Jorge Enrique | 1 | $ 12.295 | $ 12.295 | view record | 1102912 → |
| 2024-01-23 | Cardoso Rodriguez Matias Santiago | 36 | $ 45.833 | $ 1,7 M | view record | 1083551 → |
| 2024-04-01 | Ramirez Devicenti Natalia Soledad | 12 | $ 54.645 | $ 655.738 | view record | 1115465 → |
| 2024-04-18 | Codigo DE Barras Srl | 4 | $ 211.749flat | $ 846.994 | view record | 1124657 → |
| 2024-04-29 | Codigo DE Barras Srl | 12 | $ 211.749flat | $ 2,5 M | Compra por Excepción 7/2024 | 1114853 → |
| 2024-05-23 | Nifelar S A | 12 | $ 61.475 | $ 737.705 | view record | 1114854 → |
| 2024-05-23 | Durante Montes DE Oca Alejandro Manuel | 12 | $ 68.306 | $ 819.672 | view record | 1109288 → |
| 2024-05-29 | Anzorena Carrancio Jorge Enrique | 1 | $ 28.689 | $ 28.689 | view record | 1102891 → |
| 2024-09-10 | Gonzalez Vigliante German Cono | 36 | $ 115.437 | $ 4,2 M | Compra por Excepción 35/2024 | 1162260 → |
| 2024-10-14 | Hernandez Kuster Sara Lilian | 48 | $ 29.167 | $ 1,4 M | Compra por Excepción 40/2024 | 1164929 → |
| 2024-11-06 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 12 | $ 58.060 | $ 696.721 | view record | 1181116 → |
| 2024-11-15 | Del Campo Martinez Esteban Fabian | 12 | $ 58.333 | $ 700.000 | view record | 1181111 → |
| 2024-12-27 | Ramirez Devicenti Natalia Soledad | 12 | $ 54.645 | $ 655.738 | view record | 1206985 → |
| 2024-12-27 | Nifelar S A | 12 | $ 61.475 | $ 737.705 | view record | 1206784 → |
| 2025-01-10 | Anzorena Carrancio Jorge Enrique | 1 | $ 32.459 | $ 32.459 | view record | 1208456 → |
| 2025-01-10 | Rodriguez Cardozo Matias German | 1 | $ 122.951 | $ 122.951 | view record | 1206977 → |
| 2025-01-13 | Anzorena Carrancio Jorge Enrique | 1 | $ 24.590 | $ 24.590 | view record | 1205251 → |
| 2025-01-13 | Cardoso Rodriguez Matias Santiago | 1 | $ 32.000 | $ 32.000 | view record | 1206978 → |
| 2025-04-15 | Hernandez Kuster Sara Lilian | 36 | $ 68.306 | $ 2,5 M | view record | 1219789 → |
| 2025-05-06 | Hernandez Kuster Sara Lilian | 36 | $ 68.306 | $ 2,5 M | view record | 1219789 → |
| 2025-05-06 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 0 | $ 68.306 | $ 2,5 M qty 0 | view record | 1219789 → |
| 2025-05-19 | Costa Martinez Ever Marcelo | 36 | $ 27.322 | $ 983.607 | view record | 1225693 → |
| 2025-06-05 | Costa Martinez Ever Marcelo | 12 | $ 60.109 | $ 721.311 | view record | 1220218 → |
| 2025-06-20 | Gonzalez Vigliante German Cono | 36 | $ 21.630 | $ 778.689 | view record | 1237511 → |
| 2025-09-29 | DE Los Santos Colman Juan Carlos | 18 | $ 45.833 | $ 824.994 | view record | 1281229 → |
| 2025-11-06 | DE Los Santos Colman Juan Carlos | 10 | $ 30.000 | $ 300.000 | view record | 1286230 → |
| 2025-11-18 | Nifelar S A | 12 | $ 68.306 | $ 819.672 | view record | 1290627 → |
| 2025-12-29 | DE Los Santos Colman Juan Carlos | 1 | $ 20.000 | $ 20.000 | view record | 1303626 → |
| 2026-03-09 | Ramirez Devicenti Natalia Soledad | 12 | $ 57.377 | $ 688.525 | view record | 1290691 → |
| 2026-05-20 | DI Mattia Tropiano Pablo Humberto | 5 | $ 23.411 | $ 117.055 | view record | 1341660 → |
| 2026-05-25 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 36 | $ 141.667 | $ 5,1 M | Compra por Excepción 51/2025 | 1307206 → |
| 2026-05-25 | Hernandez Kuster Sara Lilian | 36 | $ 87.500 | $ 3,2 M | view record | 1307284 → |
| 2026-06-17 | Mendez Martinez Maria Cristina | 36 | $ 50.205 | $ 1,8 M | view record | 1326091 → |
| 2026-06-17 | Gonzalez Vigliante German Cono | 24 | $ 64.891 | $ 1,6 M | view record | 1306730 → |
| 2026-07-03 | Naves Cramer Catalina Alejandra | 36 | $ 64.549 | $ 2,3 M | view record | 1333220 → |
Sources
Verified on the portal
Compras Estatales
Normativa · prensa
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How to read this investigation
This is an analysis of public procurement data, which is public record. It documents verifiable facts — amounts, dates, suppliers, procurement method — and flags patterns worth scrutiny, keeping proven facts apart from open questions.
An exception purchase, a high price or supplier concentration is not, on its own, proof of wrongdoing. Many contracts may have valid administrative justification. The goal is to enable citizen oversight, not to issue a verdict.
Companies and people are named only as state suppliers, as they appear in the official system. Anyone named may add their response or correct a figure, and it will be incorporated.