Chile’s casino lobby brings in Luis Cordero as online betting fight moves back to the Senate

The debate over online betting regulation in Chile has entered a new phase now that the bill is back in the Senate. The Casino Association is escalating the legal fight, and for high-risk operators the key issue is simple: whether the market gets a regulated path to operate, or whether the tax authority’s current workaround gets rolled back.

1. The Association of Casinos has added former Minister of Justice and Security Luis Cordero to lead a legal offensive against the Internal Revenue Service (SII) decision to enable a mechanism allowing betting platforms to register and pay Value Added Tax (VAT).
2. The association plans to challenge the measure before the Comptroller General’s Office, arguing that it could facilitate the operation of platforms that still do not have a specific regulatory framework. For PSPs and acquirers, that is the sort of ambiguity that tends to make banks ask very pointed questions.
3. Online betting companies and their providers have also tightened their institutional representation through three parallel fronts: the group led by Carlos Baeza, a new association promoted by Betano, and AgruGaming, headed by former Casino Superintendent Francisco Leiva, which is participating actively in the regulatory discussion.
4. The bill has split the government and other state bodies. The Ministry of Finance supports regulation that would allow it to collect around US$300 million annually, while Ideas Republicanas has warned about the risks tied to increased gambling addiction, especially among young people, and the possibility that platforms could be used for illicit activity.
5. Polla Chilena de Beneficencia says only operators that already have authorization should be allowed to offer this type of service. The bill will determine whether online betting platforms can operate under a regulated framework or be excluded from the Chilean market altogether.

The SII’s recent decision to allow VAT payments marked a turning point in the debate, but the Casino Association’s move is aimed at reversing it. With major tax and commercial stakes on the table, the Senate process is now the place where the market’s operating rules will be set or denied.