Chile: Key aspects of the regulation of the gaming market

What you should know about the regulation of online gambling in Chile 
These are the areas on which this bill will have the greatest influence after being approved. Player protection In this regulation, improvements have been proposed in the self-reporting procedure for players, given that after the legalization of the platforms it will be easier to identify operators who could violate the rights of players. In addition, this regulation seeks to provide better conditions for withdrawing funds and protect the personal and financial information of players. 

Legalization requirements

In accordance with this law, those gaming companies established as closed corporations, with the participation of up to 10 shareholders and with a capital greater than 2,000 UTM (Monthly Tax Units), whose legal origin can be demonstrable, may apply for operating licenses. In addition, it is proposed that the offers and promotions are not subject to restrictions on use, so you could find no deposit bonuses and similar promotions in some casinos. On the other hand, the website must have the domain extension ".cl" to indicate that it is a local page.

Responsible gaming

This project contains measures to promote responsible gambling, including limiting access to minors and people with child support debts, and prohibiting promotions that encourage gambling by minors or vulnerable people. In addition, it requires the specification of a game pattern by the client and requires platforms to implement special monitoring systems to detect excesses and send the corresponding alerts to players. 

Likewise, this regulation requires platforms to inform players about responsible gaming and establishes the creation of a support fund for people with gambling problems.

Tax matters 

This bill, which is supported by the Senate Chamber, establishes a series of taxes in order to tax online gambling activities, including: An annual fee of 1,000 UTM for each operating license for online gaming platforms. Allocate 2% of your gross income to the development of the National Sports Institute. This tax will affect operators offering sports betting and will be distributed between the Paralympic Committee, the Olympic Committee and the Chilean sports federations. 

Value Added Tax, Income Tax and 20% of your gross income, plus the responsible gaming contribution rate, equivalent to 1% of your gross annual income. This bill was presented by the Ministry of Finance before the Senate Economy Commission, and was approved by the latter at the beginning of 2024, so it could come into force for the second half of the year. 

Its main purpose is to promote competition in the gaming market with transparency, responsibility and security for operators and players.