Operator News
Chile – Gaming board welcomes Supreme Court decision
By James - 18 September 2023
The Superintendence of Gaming Casinos (SCJ) has come out in support of the Supreme Court’s decision to block access to online betting platforms. The announcement comes after Chile’s highest court accepted an appeal from state lottery operator Polla Chilena de Beneficencia .
In a statement the head of the legal division of the SJC Manuel Zárate said that the ruling clearly established that online operators offering their services in Chile were acting illegally. Furthermore it gave backing to a recent decision adopted by the Eighth Guarantee Court of Santiago, which rejected the request for dismissal raised by the defence representing a number of platforms.
“We value this decision, which once again confirms what is established in different legal bodies, regarding the illegal nature of the activity and that it is punishable even criminally as long as said activity does not have an express law that enables them,” he said.
Mr Zárate also mentioned the complaints that the SJC had already put forward to the Public Ministry.
“It should be noted that, in its resolution, the Supreme Court refers to the various complaints presented by the Superintendency to the Public Ministry, more than 40 to date, each of which has been accompanied by a technical report, emphasising that the operation of these platforms operate without paying taxes, without transparency in the generation of results, without having a policy of responsible gaming and protection of minors, among other negative externalities,” he added.
Although in the first instance the appeal made by Polla was rejected by the Court of Appeals of Concepción, the country’s highest court reversed the decision and ordered the blocking of sports betting sites offered via Mundo Pacífico. The Supreme Court ruled that broadband provider Mundo Pacífico could not transmit or promote any form of gaming, unless it first received legal authorization to do so. State owned company Polla Chilena de Beneficencia offers lottery and fixed odds sports betting products at retail outlets and online.
The court in its ruling stated that “the online betting systems carried out in Chile through the Internet by persons or companies not authorized by law – mentioned in this action – are illegal, and the appeal must be adopted immediately, or within the period determined by the court.” The ruling also stated that necessary measures should be taken to “ensure the blocking of the online betting sites that operate in Chile and that have been indicated in this appeal.”
