Chile betting bill shifts towards prohibition as amendment deadline extended

Chile’s Senate has extended the deadline for amendments to its online betting bill until midday on 26 October, as new proposals challenge the legislation’s original plan for a competitive licensing market.

The government did not submit its amendments before the previous deadline expired on 16 October. Senate committees granted another ten days after the executive requested more time for technical discussions and consultations.

Government spokesperson and interior minister Claudio Alvarado said several meetings had already taken place. “Within that communication, that dialogue and that search for consensus on the amendments, it was considered necessary to have additional time,” he said.

Bill 14,838-03 originally sought to establish a regulated private market with licensing, taxation, ownership-disclosure and player-protection requirements. The Senate approved it in principle by 27 votes to three, with five abstentions, in August 2025, but it remains in its second constitutional stage.

During the August 2025 debate, senator Matías Walker argued that regulation would be more effective than attempting to eliminate the market.

“Instead of falling into the temptation of the easy route, which would be to try to prohibit it and pretend that it will disappear — something we know will not happen — we are moving towards a serious legal framework,” Walker said.

The latest amendments represent a significant departure from that position.

Economy Committee president Gastón Saavedra and senator Diego Ibáñez have proposed preventing private platforms from operating while preserving the existing legal regimes for Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, Lotería de Concepción, authorised racecourses and land based casinos.

Their proposal would establish criminal penalties and fines for unauthorised operations while requiring internet providers, app platforms and payment companies to block access and transactions. Platforms registered with the Internal Revenue Service could receive a transitional period of up to 24 months.

Senate president Paulina Núñez has submitted a separate proposal that would reserve online gambling for entities expressly authorised by law. It provides for permanent judicial blocking, corporate criminal liability, fines reaching 10,000 monthly tax units and prison sentences of up to 15 years in aggravated cases.

“Online betting houses are not an innocent business,” Núñez said. “They can generate addiction, indebtedness and devastating consequences for families.”

Her proposal would also penalise people who knowingly finance or promote illegal platforms and restrict associated payment and advertising services. It includes identity verification, voluntary betting limits and self-exclusion measures.

The government now has until 26 October to present its amendments.