Subtel orders blocking of 42 betting URLs in Chile
Regulation1 min read
Chile’s Subtel gave Entel, Movistar, Claro, GTD, WOM and VTR 48 hours to block 42 URLs linked to unauthorised online betting and gaming platforms. The order follows a Supreme Court ruling, while the ACCJ said affected operators were using mirror domains and called for progress on Chile’s online betting bill.
Chile’s telecommunications regulator Subtel has given internet providers Entel, Movistar, Claro, GTD, WOM and VTR 48 hours to block 42 URLs linked to online betting and gambling platforms. The order follows a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the transmission and promotion of unauthorised gambling.
The order uses Domain Name System blocking after administrative validation of the URLs. Subtel has previously said the procedure can be applied to subsequent domains if they are specific, verifiable and validated in advance by the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego.
The Asociación Chilena de Casinos y Juegos (ACCJ) said several affected platforms had activated alternative domains through which customers could continue using their services. The association said the practice was an attempt to evade court restrictions and showed the limits of blocking individual sites.
ACCJ executive president Cecilia Valdés addressed foreign platforms’ registration with the Servicio de Impuestos Internos to pay digital taxes. Valdés said some platforms presented their tax registration as evidence that their operations were regulated, creating confusion despite court decisions concerning the legality of their gambling activity. Paying digital taxes does not in itself confer a gambling licence or authorisation to offer online betting in Chile.
The ACCJ called for progress on a bill to regulate online betting platforms and modernise gambling. The proposal is in its second constitutional stage in the Senate.