Chile proposes 22% tax and transition fee for unlicensed betting operators

Chile's government has submitted amendments to a bill regulating online betting platforms, the Economy Commission of the Senate is due to study the text at a later session for which no date has been set. The amendments were delivered on Monday 26 October, the final day of the deadline, according to the document's submission as reported. The bill has been under consideration in the Senate since 2022.

The 114-page document sets out a 22% tax burden, made up of 19% VAT on the monthly difference between amounts staked and prizes paid, plus an additional 3% tax. Licences would run for five years, with an annual levy of 1,000 monthly tax units, stated as about €65,380. The text also bans all advertising by platforms, with or without an operating licence, and the prohibition covers those who commission, design, distribute or broker advertisements. Existing contracts with operators covered by the transitional regime could be maintained for a maximum of one year, and only outside the hours set to protect minors. The text further prohibits bonuses, promotional offers or any benefit other than prizes intended to attract or retain players.

Operators currently working without a licence could regularise their status by paying a "derecho habilitante" of 3,000 monthly tax units, stated as about €196,140, and by being up to date with digital VAT. As a general rule, applications from companies that have operated without a licence in Chile in the previous 12 months would be rejected, with indicators including use of a .cl domain, sponsorship in the country or contracts with Chilean payment providers. Those already declaring the tax would have to declare the previous 36 months, and that payment would extinguish their liabilities for tax non-compliance.

Physical casinos would be able to offer online platform bets on their premises, but only through an agreement with an operator holding a valid licence and certification. The text states that platform bets "sólo podrán ser ofrecidas por la sociedad operadora".

On player protection, each account would carry default deposit and connection-time limits per session and per day, which the government describes as "una configuración de juego seguro por defecto". Enhanced authentication, including biometric, would be required. The register of excluded persons would include self-excluded persons, people deprived of liberty and those entered in the register of maintenance debtors. Athletes, coaches, directors and shareholders would not be able to bet on their own discipline. The Ministry of Finance would issue a responsible-gaming regulation, reviewable every four years, and a fund for the prevention and treatment of gambling disorder would be created, managed by the ministries of health and social development.

The document is signed by President José Antonio Kast and ministers Jorge Quiroz (Finance), Daniel Mas, May Chomalí, Fernando Rabat and Claudio Alvarado. It was defended in the Senate by Finance Undersecretary Sebastián Vallebona. The amendments withdraw all previous government indications and rename the norm as the law on regulation of online betting, protection of children and prevention of gambling disorder. According to what emerged from the session, several senators on the Economy Commission considered the 22% low compared with taxes on alcohol and tobacco.