Chile Senate Economy Commission Proposes Localized Licensing and Enhanced Transparency for Online Betting
TL;DR — Chile’s Senate Economy Commission suggests limiting online betting licenses to locally incorporated operators with physical addresses and demanding transparency on beneficial ownership. Proposals feature extra taxes funding sports and harm prevention, biometric age gates, betting bans for sports insiders, and boosted enforcement against illegal sites. The legislation, tabled in March 2022, remains unresolved after four-plus years of debate.
SCCG Take — The changes would erect higher barriers for non-domestic operators while channeling new funds to responsible gambling. Continued delays highlight the challenges in finalizing Chile’s online betting regime.
Chile’s Senate Economy Commission has proposed incorporating stricter measures into legislation regulating online betting. These include a licensing system restricted to operators legally incorporated in Chile that maintain known offices and registered addresses.
Senators Gastón Saavedra, Matías Walker and Ricardo Celis called for increased transparency regarding the ultimate owners and beneficiaries of betting operators. The proposals emerged from a technical working group formed with the government to advance an agreed text. The senators said Chile needed an online betting market that was “regulated, transparent, safe and that pays taxes in the country.”
Senate Proposals on Taxation and Player Protection
The senators proposed a specific tax on online betting in addition to VAT. Revenues would be directed towards community sport, gambling harm prevention and treatment programmes, and the Common Municipal Fund.
Additional proposals encompass identity verification or biometric controls to prevent minors from betting, a National Responsible Betting Policy, restrictions on payment methods and promotional incentives, and a prohibition on betting by athletes, coaches, referees and officials connected to sporting events.
The group further called for stronger powers for the Superintendence of Casinos, Financial Market Commission, Internal Revenue Service and Financial Analysis Unit. These would enable pursuit of illegal operators through technological blocking and financial tracing.
Status of the Long-Running Legislation
The bill, originally introduced under former president Sebastián Piñera, seeks to establish a regulated online betting market addressing illegal gambling, player protection, advertising, responsible gambling and financial transparency.
Its existing framework provides for an annual licence fee of 1,000 UTM, a 20% specific tax on gross income alongside income tax and VAT, and a 2% contribution from gross revenue to sport.
As reported by G3 Newswire, the bill has now been under consideration for more than four years, having been introduced in March 2022. After spending almost two years in the Chamber of Deputies, it entered the Senate in late 2023. Despite hopes expressed in 2025 that it could be passed during the current presidential and parliamentary term, the Senate was still refining its provisions in September 2026, with no passage date announced.
Reporting: G3 Newswire
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Four years in, Chile's licensing regime faces another rewrite—higher barriers for foreign operators, more friction, still no finish line.
We track every licensing negotiation in Latin America because the devil is always in the details. Chile's drift toward local incorporation and biometric gates signals a protectionist turn that changes the math for international operators weighing market entry. Delays like this cost our partners runway and revenue.
- Licenses restricted to locally incorporated operators with physical Chilean addresses and beneficial ownership transparency
- New tax layer funding sports, harm prevention; biometric age verification and betting bans for sports insiders proposed
- Bill introduced March 2022 under Piñera—still unresolved after four years of technical working groups
SCCG angle: SCCG has been on the ground in Chile and across LATAM for years, connecting operators with local legal, tax, and lobbying expertise before these rewrites lock you out. We help clients navigate protectionist drift and structure compliant entries while regulators debate—speed and local partnerships decide who wins these markets.
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