SERNAC and the Casino Gaming Superintendence warn about the lack of protection of the citizenship regarding online games

They pointed out that this reality occurs in the context of the illegality in which these bookmakers operate, leaving people who access these platforms in a situation of vulnerability.

In an activity together with the Director of SERNAC, Andrés Herrera, the Superintendent of Gaming Casinos, Vivien Villagrán, pointed out that "together with the National Consumer Service, it seems highly relevant to alert the public about the risks they are exposed to when carrying out online gambling, those that operate outside the law”. The foregoing, because it is an activity that violates public faith because it is carried out without transparency in the generation of results, without a responsible gaming policy and without protection for self-excluded people or children.

Along the same lines, Andrés Herrera commented that “online games of chance are not regulated in our country, being illegal and, therefore, consumers who access this type of service are exposed to eventual breaches and scams, such as prizes that are not delivered or conditions offered that are not met. For this reason, the call to consumers is to self-care, not to expose themselves to contracting this type of services and, even less, to go into debt to access them”.

 It should be noted that in Chile, games of chance can only operate through a specific law that authorizes them, -this is the case of gambling casinos-, and that, for online games of chance, the same imperative of have prior legal authorization, being Polla, Lottery and Teletrak the only entities that can operate in this way at present.

 On the occasion, Superintendent Villagrán reported that on June 12 the Executive presented indications to the bill that regulates the development of online betting platforms, aimed at safeguarding public faith that implies high technical and supervision standards, increase tax collection; prevent both money laundering and terrorist financing; and promote responsible gambling and prevent problem gambling.

As long as this bill does not materialize, the message is one: online gambling, which is currently proliferating in our country, acts illegally.

 In this sense, the Director of SERNAC, Andrés Herrera, valued the presentation of the project that regulates them as the recent invitation issued by the Economic Commission of the H. Chamber of Deputies and Deputies to present the opinion of the Service on it.

 Likewise, Herrera highlighted the latest indications entered into the project, which are in line with some of the comments raised by SERNAC, and which, if considered, recognize that the operators of the online betting platforms and the users have the quality of suppliers and consumers, respectively, being fully applicable to them, therefore, the Consumer Law.
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