Chilean Economic Commission Approves Online Sports Betting Bill

Chilean Economic Commission Approves Online Sports Betting Bill

Time Stamp: June 2, 2023 12:54 PM

Bill 035/2022 introduced in March 2022 to regulate online betting has been approved by the Economic Commission of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies. The measure held up in legislature for multiple discussions and consideration was adopted by the Chamber on a 9-1 vote to make a significant change of the Chilean gambling industry as the current online wagering services include three operators only.

Bill Introduced in March 2022:

The bill was preceded by a series of legislative measures that commenced in March 2022 when the governmental Internal Revenue Service included betting in the category of activities that do not have a regulatory framework. In April 2022, the Chamber of Deputies ruled that agreements between sports clubs and sports betting operators shall be considered illegal, but the measure has recently be sent to further consideration by the Senate.

Pending Approval:

The Senate’s Economic Commission has recently reviewed the bill proposing the regulation of sports betting, and the discussion included the governmental competent authorities for customer service and financial market Andres Herrera and, respectively, Solange Berstein. The proposal is now pending for a consultation period set to end on June 12. Upon the expiry of the given deadline, the Senate is expected to decide whether the bill will be sent to be signed into law.

Regulated Sports Betting Required:

The bill has passed a long way since March 2022 to await final approval after it cleared the Economic Commission of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies. According to a source, Carlos Baeza, legal representative of Betano, Betsson, Coolbet and Latamwin, said: “[This] is an excellent sign because Chile will be among 73% of the OECF countries that have regulated online betting platforms in a comprehensive way, addressing the institutional, tax and advertising requirements of the industry.”

Baeza reportedly considers the regulation as an optimized legal method to distinguish platforms complying with legal requirements from illegal sports books. He also acclaimed the involvement of the Chilean Ministry of Finance in the regulatory procedure.

Regulator to Collect $50 Million from Operators:

The gaming regulatory body, Superintendency of Gambling Casinos (SCJ), reportedly estimates that the annual value of gambling operations amounts to the levels between $130 million and $170 million with prospects for a rapid growth to be supported by licensed operations and a legal framework. SCJ would reportedly generate around $50 million a year from licenses, taxes, and other regulatory fees.

According to the source, the Government is aware that the regulated sports betting will attract international companies to the Chilean market but also hopes that the methods to combat problem gambling will be implemented as soon as online sports betting is launched in the country.

Addressing Problem Gambling:

To mitigate problem gambling and the participation of minors in gambling operations, the authorities require bettors to have Unique National Role, or ID, for identity confirmation purposes to prevent adverse consequences of unauthorized access to wagering accounts.

The Bill 035/2022 proposes that the only those betting companies that are awarded a five-year renewable license can offer their services. The Bill reportedly reads: “These licenses will be granted through a non-competitive and administrative process, since it’s difficult to evaluate one proposal over another, nor is it possible to establish mechanisms of exclusion or territorial monopoly.”

The Bill also requires operators to submit a Platform Operation Plan and a deposit and allows only licensed companies to share their content in the media. Any failure to comply with the measure would trigger fines by the regulator.

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