In Chile, the long-running conflit to regulate online gambling has returned to congressional debates, as independent Senator Karim Bianchi submits a new bill targeting the advertising and promotion of offshore betting platforms.
The intervention comes as political and legal pressures mount on lawmakers to revive Chile’s side-lined Gambling Act, a reform effort that began with momentum in 2023.
The original decree saw both Congress and the Senate begin deliberations on establishing the country’s first unified federal framework for online gambling, licensing, consumer protections and sanctions against illegal operators.
Progress saw lawmakers settle on key legal definitions for online gambling and the mechanisms needed to prosecute offshore companies. The proposed bill was positioned as one of the first in the world to address the regulation of online gambling at both individual and group levels.
Derailed by legal disputes
Progress collapsed in 2024 after local municipal casino operators launched major legal challenges, accusing the government of breaching long-standing contractual guarantees.
Their demands for compensation and protective clauses forced the Ministry of Finance to halt all legislative work on the Gambling Act.
The fallout quickly extended into sport. The Chile Football Federation (FFC) became entangled in a lengthy dispute with the Ministry of Justice over whether Primera División clubs could legally enter sponsorship agreements with offshore bookmakers. With no online licensing system in place, clubs, regulators and courts were left operating in a legal vacuum.
Judicial limits
In response to the rising number of disputes, Chilean courts ordered telecommunications companies to block access to unlicensed betting sites. The resulting wave of IP blackouts attracted national attention — but also internal criticism.
Telecom regulator Subtel acknowledged that the blocks were largely ineffective, as operators rapidly rotated domain names faster than courts could issue orders.
More critically, Chile’s judiciary has repeatedly warned that it lacks the legal criteria, regulatory definitions and procedural standards required to adjudicate online gambling cases.
Judges overseeing advertising, sponsorship and domain-blocking disputes have formally urged Congress to intervene, stating that without a statutory framework their decisions risk inconsistency and overreach.
Senator Bianchi reflects these concerns: “What we are seeing is our courts having to resolve disputes without a law. This is not sustainable. A Gambling Act is the solution for providing clarity to citizens, operators and the State.”
Bianchi’s proposal focuses on one of the most visible consequences of the regulatory vacuum: the unchecked proliferation of offshore advertising.
The bill would impose significant penalties — 500 to 1,000 UTM — on any individual or media outlet that promotes or facilitates access to unlicensed gambling websites.
Sunday election
The renewed debate unfolds as Chile approaches a decisive presidential run-off this weekend, with conservative nationalist José Antonio Kast leading polls against Jeannette Jara, the governing Communist coalition’s candidate and a member of the Communist Party.
With political attention fixed on the election and the current administration nearing its end, further legislative movement appears unlikely.
As Chile confronts ineffective site blackouts, widening legal inconsistencies and mounting conflicts between operators, football clubs and the judiciary,
Bianchi’s intervention signals that online gambling reform is returning to the centre of the national political agenda — and will demand decisive action from the country’s next administration.
Bianchi concedes that the responsibility may now pass to the incoming government: “We cannot continue to delay a decision that will impact millions of Chileans. Whoever comes to power next will have no option but to take responsibility for regulating online gambling.”