Chile's Casino Association Says Online Betting Bill Still Treats Land-Based Venues Unequally

^{Chile's government delivered a 114-page set of amendments to the online betting bill on 26 October 2026. (Photo: Rjcastillo / Wikimedia Commons)}

Chile's casino industry says the government's latest amendments to its online betting bill still leave land-based venues at a disadvantage. Cecilia Valdés, president of the Chilean Association of Casinos and Games (ACCJ), welcomed the ‘more comprehensive’ approach but told Diario Financiero on 27 October 2026 that the tax treatment remains unequal.

The government handed the Senate Economy Committee a 114-page set of amendments on 26 October. The bill, which entered Congress in 2022, is in its second constitutional stage in the Senate. The new text withdraws every amendment filed before it.

What the Government Proposes

Operators would pay 19% VAT on the monthly difference between bets placed and prizes paid, plus an additional 3% tax on the same base. The earlier 20% tax on gross gaming revenue, a 2% sports levy and a 1% responsible gambling levy would go. The Finance Ministry says the effective burden would be 22%, against about 38% in the original text.

Each licence would last five years and cost 1,000 monthly tax units (UTM) a year, about CLP72 million at October 2026 values. A definitive licence would require a closed corporation set up in Chile, minimum capital of 5,000 UTM and a .cl domain.

Operators that ran without a licence in the previous 12 months could not apply for a definitive licence, but could enter a transitional regime. That requires a 3,000 UTM fee, about CLP216 million, and proof that digital VAT owed over the prior 36 months has been paid or put on a payment plan.

The Casino Industry's Objections

Valdés called the transitional fee ‘a pardon for having operated illegally all this time’, saying it replaces an earlier cooling-off period meant to let new entrants compete fairly. ‘We want competition to enter, but real, fair competition, from serious companies,’ she said.

‘We are taxing a new industry without even contemplating viability for the industry that is currently in force,’ Valdés said, calling the proposed online rate ‘an absurdity’ and the imbalance ‘a complete asymmetry’.

Chile's land-based casinos pay 20% of gross gaming revenue plus an admission charge, and Valdés noted the sector also pays municipalities and regional governments. She argued that industries with similar social costs, such as tobacco and alcohol, are not taxed as lightly as the proposed online rate.

The text also lets physical casinos offer online betting through agreements with a licensed platform operator. Valdés said that route is not the most competitive for the industry, suggesting existing casino operators should have a more direct path to online authorisation.

Other Changes in the Text

The amendments propose a ban on all advertising by online betting platforms, licensed or not, and bar promotional bonuses meant to attract or keep users. Accounts would default to safe-play limits, withdrawals would have to be paid within 24 hours without fees, and player balances would sit in separate bank accounts.

Chile joins a regional debate in which Brazil has banned fixed-odds sports betting, with betting demand falling back to 2022 levels after the ban. The Senate Economy Committee now takes up the amendments, and the ACCJ says the final framework must set comparable competitive conditions for land-based and online operators.