Chile’s Sports Betting Agenda Progresses
Author:
Megan Butler
The topic of sports betting is in discussion in Chile at the moment, similar to the debate going on in several countries across Latin America. In Chile, the project has reached the point of deliberate talks between Chile’s gaming authority, the Superintendency of Gaming Casinos (SCJ) and SERNAC, Chile’s National Consumer Service. Leaders from both entities met to discuss how sports betting can progress further in Chile.
The Chilean government will soon put sports betting into effect, possibly followed by online betting in the near future. ?Rai Singh Uriarte/Unsplash
Status of the bill so far
Alongside the meeting between the SCJ and SERNAC on sports betting, the topic has also made it to Chile’s Chamber of Deputies. It was first approved by the Economic Commission as well, which means so far, the gaming vertical is ticking the necessary boxes to eventually be put into operation.
For their part, SCJ Superintendent Vivien Villagrán and SERNAC director Andrés Herrera spoke about how sports betting will be processed across Chile. The joint statement they released after the meeting also pointed to the importance of the casino industry as a whole, which suggests that sports betting may be rolled out in these venues.
Both leaders also spoke about casino safety and trustworthiness, mentioning inspections that are to take place in order to evaluate how casinos are functioning and whether they are operating to the necessary standards. The statement emphasized the protection of those who use casino services as consumers.
Though the consumer aspect is important for SERNAC in particular, both SERNAC and the SCJ agreed to work together to create an adequate assessment of the state of Chilean casinos. This also means cooperation and transparency between both entities.
Online betting delayed
In any discussion about the regulation and roll out of a sports betting standard, the matter of online gambling of course also cannot be ignored. Separate to the more advanced state of sports betting implementation is the discussion of online betting in Chile, a matter which was introduced in March 2022 but not picked up any further since then.
Again, Chile’s Economic Commission of the Chamber of Deputies had a responsibility to look at the online gambling bill. It was meant to process it in August 2022, but Chile’s executive power asked for a delay.
The reason given was that Chile’s Ministry of Finance was in the midst of a major tax reform which would also include an online betting tax, and it was desirable to have this reform rolled out before any changes were made to online betting laws.
Though the delay was only meant to last for 30 days, the matter was not picked up again in the Congress. If sports betting in general is pushed through, it could be that the online betting issue is to follow soon. For now, it is proposed that the government would grant licenses for up to five years each for operators.
These licenses could be renewable. A shorter, six month term would also be available, but these would not be renewable. Holders of such licenses would be able to work in the industry of gambling across several verticals including betting, but not including lotteries.
Chile is also quite firm about how gaming is advertised. Games may not include content that “threaten public order” nor messaging that might be pervasive to minors. Along these lines, Chilean lawmakers have been looking at a proposed bill to ban gambling advertising in sports venues.
The argument is also that it is for the public good, and that there might be too strong of a financial incentive for teams to be swayed by betting platforms, which could also threaten gaming integrity if left unchecked. There is also concern about promoting gambling among minors.
