The situation Chile is going through highlights the contradictions that coexist in the country regarding the handling of online betting. On one hand, the authorities are collecting taxes from foreign operators; on the other, they are blocking their platforms.
Since July, a measure has been in effect in Chile requiring foreign websites to declare and pay Digital VAT (19%) on transactions they carry out in the country. According to the Internal Revenue Service (SII), 39 betting platforms have already registered. Collection is done quarterly, and it is expected that in October 100 million dollars will be collected.
However, there is no specific regulatory framework governing the online gambling market, so international companies, despite paying taxes, are not subject to any type of oversight regarding user protection, prevention of minors’ access, and traceability of operations.
The outlook is even more confusing when considering a Supreme Court ruling from September 2025 that declared online betting illegal and ordered the blocking of all unlicensed websites. So far in September, the Undersecretariat of Telecommunications (Subtel) has ordered the blocking of nearly 80 betting platforms.
The SII measure received criticism from lawmakers and industry associations, who described it as a “disguised regulation” of the activity, while the sector has been unsuccessfully requesting a regulatory law for years.
It is worth mentioning that the tax authority’s decision came amid growing concern over the advance of illicit economies in Chile. A recent report from the Confederation of Production and Commerce (CPC) estimates that illicit markets mobilize more than 5.7 billion dollars annually and generate fiscal revenue losses exceeding 1.5 billion. Illegal online gambling is one of the most valuable illicit markets: 625 million during 2025. According to estimates by H2 Gambling Capital, the market could reach annual gross revenues of 1.445 billion by 2030.
“Collecting is not regulating,” said Sandra Kemp, president of the newly founded Responsible iGaming Association, in conversation with staging-latam.next.io/.
“The SII did what was appropriate and we will comply with it. But a tax does not allow verifying the age of those who register on a website, nor creating a national self-exclusion registry. Nor does it guarantee that deposit limits per player are established and complied with, or that companies report to the Financial Analysis Unit. In the end, the State is applying patches because what is needed is a law,” she emphasized.
A project that is moving forward slowly
Bill 14838-03, introduced in 2022, is in its second constitutional reading in the Senate.
Under this regulation, only companies with permission from the Superintendency of Casinos (which will be renamed the Superintendency of Casinos, Betting and Games of Chance) will be able to operate. Platforms will have to pay a specific tax of 20% on their gross revenue, in addition to VAT. The initiative also establishes a specific levy called the “responsible gambling contribution rate,” equivalent to 1% of operating companies’ annual gross revenue.
“The legal void that currently exists creates risks and harm to minors, adult users, the State, and platforms that cannot operate and compete on equal terms in Chile. Not legislating is the worst of all available options,” Kemp pointed out.
From the entity, they propose that the law include a periodic review clause.
“The regulator should periodically publish the channeling rate, indicators of problem gambling prevalence, and the actual use of protection tools, and the regulation should be adjusted based on what that data shows,” the lawyer highlighted.
She added that “the best approach would be a risk-based and results-oriented one, rather than imposing strict or disproportionate restrictions, or creating an unsustainable tax burden.”
Former ANFP executive secretary leads new betting association
Kemp took over the presidency of the Association in July of this year.
Between 2021 and 2023, she served as executive secretary of the National Professional Football Association of Chile. She was the first woman to hold that position.
“More is always expected of women in these positions. A man is presumed to be suitable; a woman is asked to prove it, and sometimes more than once,” she noted.
Football and betting remain male-dominated worlds, but Kemp believes spaces change when someone occupies them. “Environments transform when someone steps in, not when they’re described from the outside. The day will come when it stops being news that a woman leads these fields,” she highlighted.
Regarding the relationship between football and betting, Kemp explained that there are more similarities than it seems. “In football, the professionalization of governance came much later than the mass popularity of the sport, and that had a cost that was paid for over years. Something similar is happening with online betting: the activity has been booming for some time, but the regulatory framework still hasn’t arrived.”
What to expect going forward?
In June, members of the Senate’s Economy Committee agreed to form a technical working group with the Executive to refine details of the bill. The expectation is that the initiative will be unblocked sooner rather than later.
Senator Gastón Saavedra, chairman of the Committee, described the need for regulation as urgent and formally stated his commitment to advancing the bill this year so that it can then move to the Senate floor and continue its process until becoming law.
The various stakeholders agree that, after four years of debate, any further delay in processing the law would be unjustifiable.
“Chile is arriving late to the discussion. Also to promoting foreign investment. Countries like Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Argentina have already resolved this issue,” Kemp emphasized.
While Congress seeks to define the conditions to regulate the market, platforms are already operating, users continue betting, and the State has started collecting taxes.
“Everything we do today from the Association stems from a voluntary commitment, but it should be a legal obligation for everyone. Self-regulation is a bridge, not a destination,” stated the head of the association.