Chile sets the basis for a new regulatory framework for online betting

Chile is moving toward its own law to organize the online betting market, with the Senate’s Economy Committee setting up a technical working group with the Executive branch to draft an agreed text. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks, the useful part is not the political theater: the proposal points to a licensed, taxed market with tighter KYC, payment controls, and local presence requirements.

1. The latest push followed a Senate session with testimony from the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) and the Subsecretaría de Telecomunicaciones (Subtel), both directly involved in the current framework. The contradiction that caught senators’ attention is simple enough: the state blocks gambling sites for operating without authorization, while also collecting impuesto al valor agregado (IVA) on the same activity.
2. Subtel said it has ordered the blocking of 42 betting sites that are operating irregularly. The SII, meanwhile, said current rules already allow platform registration, with 39 operators registered today, and that tax collection is done quarterly. The agency expects to collect 100 million dollars in October alone, which gives a rough sense of the market size before a dedicated law exists.
3. Senators Saavedra, Walker, and Celis outlined the main policy pillars they want in the bill: consumer protection rules aimed at safeguarding users’ mental health, identity verification mechanisms including biometric controls to keep minors out, and a National Policy on Responsible Betting designed to prevent problem gambling.
4. The draft also points to more operational restrictions. These include limits on certain payment methods, a ban on promotional “ganchos” in cash or physical prizes, and a prohibition on betting on the performance of athletes, club officials, coaches, referees, and public authorities or officials directly linked to sporting events.
5. Licensing sits at the center of the proposal. Under the senators’ approach, only companies legally incorporated in Chile, with verifiable offices and domiciles, would be allowed to operate. The text also adds transparency requirements around the identity of beneficial owners and shareholders.

For high-risk payment providers, the direction here is clear: Chile is not talking about a loose registration regime, but about a market that would be more tightly controlled on licensing, verification, payment rails, and source-of-business transparency. If you touch gaming in the region, this is the kind of draft that changes which operators can bank, which PSPs can stay in, and which ones get cut out.