Polla Chilena president estimates online gambling treatment costs at US$1.2bn yearly
Polla Chilena president Macarena Carvallo estimated that treating people who develop online gambling problems could cost the Chilean state about US$1.2bn a year. In an interview, she argued that debate over the proposed online betting regulation had focused on tax and warned that gambling advertising by influencers and sports figures could affect young people; she cited an average starting age of 15.
Carvallo’s estimate and concerns add a public-cost and youth-protection argument to Chile’s online betting policy debate.