Chile advanced a new online betting bill that will change how the vertical is regulated. The measure was first introduced in March last year but was stuck in limbo until now. While the bill will still need additional approvals, its advancement was praised by the gambling industry.
As of the time of this writing, the only regulated gambling companies in Chile are Lotería de Concepción, Polla Chilena de Beneficencia and Teletrak. Under new rules that were introduced in March, the Internal Revenue Service acquired the power to exclude offshore companies from the simplified tax regime, including sportsbooks, which are still unregulated.
At a later date, the Chamber of Deputies proposed to outlaw deals between betting companies and sportsbooks. For reference, the online sports betting market had already established a significant presence in local sports. The new bill, however, would regulate online betting, allowing online sportsbook companies to establish a foothold in Chile.
If Chile launches regulated online sports betting, it will likely hand out licenses through a non-competitive and administrative process. Bettors, on the other hand, will be assigned an ID before playing, making it easier to identify and prevent gambling harm.
Finally, Chile will only allow licensed companies to promote their products and will hand out fines to black-market brands that do not cease to market their products in the country.
Licensed Betting Can Benefit Chile
If Chile regulates iGaming, online casino and sports betting companies will have a major reason to rejoice. Carlos Baeza, a legal representative of Betano, Betsson, Coolbet and Latamwin, addressed the matter during an interview with El Dinamo, praising the direction Chile is taking.
Baeza noted that the industry would be very happy if the country properly regulates online gambling and introduces clearly defined rules regarding taxation and advertising. The representative lauded the Ministry of Finance’s efforts to help regulate gambling.
Gambling experts believe that gaming revenues will skyrocket if online betting is introduced. Analysts forecast an increase of over 100% in five years after the regulation of the vertical. The Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego, Chile’s gambling regulator, hopes to collect $50 million in taxes, which will be used to benefit the public.
The regulator hopes that if Chile opens up to the international online betting industry, it will be also able to benefit from a rich selection of modern safer gambling tools, cybersecurity measures and AI-driven protections.
The future of the measure will be consulted by June 12.