Is a lack of political enthusiasm putting Chile online gaming plans at risk?

Chile appeared to have taken a big step towards online gambling legalisation in December 2023, when the Chamber of Deputies passed a bill to regulate iGaming.

However, little has occurred since then with the bill stuck in the Senate, a process Asociación Chilena de Casinos y Juego (ACCJ) President Cecilia Valdés describes as “slow and fragmented”.

The debate has been focused in the Senate Finance Committee, where tax, institutional and enforcement issues are being reviewed, she explains.

An absence of political will has meant the bill has made no progress in over a year, despite authorities publicly expressing interest in getting online gambling legislation over the line.

“More concerning is the urgency status was recently removed, which makes us think that both the executive branch [for failing to push it forward] and the legislative branch [for allowing it to stall in the Senate for over a year] lack the necessary commitment,” Valdés tells iGB.

“Other contributing factors include technical complexity, lack of consensus on certain points, pressure from informal actors and legal loopholes that have led to ambiguous judicial decisions.”

Could 2025 be the year for online regulation in Chile?

Chile is situated in likely the hottest region for the gambling industry, with fellow LatAm nations such as Brazil and Peru regulating online since the start of 2024. Paraguay, meanwhile, ended its betting monopoly earlier this month, further opening up the region.

With Chile’s online regulations stalling, there are concerns the market could fall behind and become a target for illegal operators that have been excluded from other countries in the region.

However, Valdés believes this could finally be the year that Chile follows suit in regulating online.

“A realistic timeline, considering Chile’s legislative pace, would be for the bill to pass sometime in 2025, but only if there is political will and the process is prioritised,” Valdés continues.

“However, we must also take into account that this is an election year, which could further slow things down.”

The potential of online gambling in Chile

Valdés is confident Chile can join the likes of Peru and Brazil in becoming a newly regulated market competing at the top of what is a hugely competitive LatAm region.

Chile has high digital penetration, with widespread banking access and smartphone usage, as well as a strong sports and betting culture.

If regulations are updated and strengthened, Valdés has high hopes for the Chile market.

“With a modern and rigorous regulatory framework, Chile could position itself among the region’s leading markets, alongside Colombia and Brazil – generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually and setting a new standard for responsible and transparent gaming,” Valdés explains.

Valdés highlights a recent study by Yield Sec, which estimated the Chilean online gambling market reached $3.1 billion in 2024 and up to $800 million in annual taxes could be generated from a regulated sector.

Alongside revenue generation, Valdés also notes regulation could assist with consumer protection, ensuring standards of responsible gaming and fair competition by restricting the illegal market.

H2 Gambling Capital, meanwhile, estimates the land-based sector in Chile could reach a gross win of $792.3 million by the end of 2029.

H2GC also predicts online gross win for onshore operators in Chile could double from an estimated $59.8 million at the end of 2025 to $160.9 million by the time 2026 comes to a conclusion, although this will depend on whether the new regulation arrives.

Recent prosecutor’s decision ‘not an acquittal’

With online regulation in the balance, last month the Chilean Public Prosecutor’s Office decided not to pursue an ongoing case to declare online betting platforms as illegal.

Valdés is keen to clarify the decision doesn’t amount to an “acquittal or legal validation” of such platforms, rather reflecting the technical limitations of the current legal framework in prosecuting offshore companies that operate in Chile.

Valdés concludes: “At ACCJ, we view it as deeply concerning that such decisions are being misinterpreted as a form of ‘de facto legalisation’. We continue to urge for clear and urgent regulation to eliminate this illegal area and ensure the rule of law prevails.”