Chile projects $133 million in revenue from online betting regulation as tax plan is revised

Chile’s government has returned to its online betting bill with a new tax structure that it says could bring in more than US$100 million in the first year and US$133 million by year five. For licensed operators and the PSPs serving them, the practical question is simple: how much tax, how tight the identity checks, and whether a total ad ban makes the licensed market workable at all.

1. The bill was taken back up by Chile’s Senate Economy Commission after the Executive presented new changes to the fiscal framework for online betting platforms. Subsecretary of Finance Sebastián Vallebona said the proposal combines VAT with an additional 3% tax, producing an effective burden of 22% under the government’s calculations.
2. Vallebona also said the change is not a cut from 20% to 3%, because the two rates are applied to different tax bases. According to the Ministry of Finance, the revised system is meant to make enforcement simpler and prevent deductions under the previous model from materially reducing the tax burden for some companies.
3. With these adjustments, the government estimates revenue will exceed US$100 million in the first year of application and reach US$133 million in the fifth year, above the US$84 million annual projection in the original proposal. For PSPs and acquirers, that is the number that matters: it signals the fiscal size of the licensed market, not just the headline tax rate.
4. One of the biggest changes is a total ban on advertising for online betting platforms, whether or not they hold an operating license. The restriction would cover multiple media and sectors, including those that contract, produce, distribute, or intermediate the ads. Violations could bring financial penalties and, for licensed operators, even revocation of the license.
5. The draft also includes a one-year transitional period for certain advertising contracts signed before the law is published, subject to the bill’s conditions. The tighter rules are framed as child and adolescent protection measures and as a way to reduce problem-gambling risk, but the industry is already pushing back on the absolute ad ban and the limits on bonuses.

The Agrupación Chilena de Plataformas de Apuestas en Línea (aPAL) welcomed the preventive measures and the creation of a fund for the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction, but said the blanket ban on advertising and bonuses raises concerns for operators that want to work inside the future regulatory framework.