Chile’s Senate Economy Committee has voted in favour of proposals to ban online gambling, dealing a major blow to the government’s plans to establish a regulated market.
In a surprise decision on Monday (9 November), senators voted three to one, with one abstention, to approve two amendments. The amendments would essentially ban private operators from offering online gambling in Chile.
These two amendments will now be merged into a single text at the committee’s next meeting, which is expected to take place next week.
The bill must then pass through the Senate’s Finance Committee before returning to the full Senate for a vote.
Trade association Agrupación de iGaming Responsable (AGR) strongly criticised the vote, describing the move as a constitutional violation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday (10 November), AGR said that a ban would push consumers towards illegal operators that offer none of the safeguards available in a regulated market.
“The prohibition does not put an end to online betting,” the association said. “Instead, it has two main effects: first, it creates a market monopoly and eliminates competition.
“These safeguards are not provided by prohibition, but by a regulatory framework that addresses both the problem and the solutions. Without legislation, there is no protection,” it added.
AGR also noted that the committee had ignored warnings from its own secretary that the amendments were inadmissible under the rules of Chile’s Senate.
Government’s regulation plans sidelined
The vote marks another dramatic twist in Chile’s long-running attempt to regulate online gambling.
Last month, President José Antonio Kast’s government unveiled a series of amendments to a 2022 bill that proposed a new framework for a regulated iGaming market, including five-year licences, an advertising ban, new taxes and player protection measures.
However, the rival proposals to ban online gambling were also already on the table.
With the committee voting to approve the two prohibition amendments – which would replace the existing text – the government’s proposals have effectively been sidelined without even being debated.
Deputy Finance Minister Sebastián Vallebona expressed disappointment at the decision, saying the government had spent three months working on its amendments with parliamentary advisers.
“We are losing the opportunity to debate regulation that focuses on protecting families, preventing minors from accessing gambling and preventing an increase in gambling addiction,” he said.
Instead, the committee has backed those calling for an outright ban.
The first prohibition amendment, submitted by senators Diego Ibáñez and Gastón Saavedra, would see private operators banned completely.
The second, from President of the Senate Paulina Núñez, would reserve online gambling as a monopoly for Polla Chilena de Beneficencia and Lotería de Concepción.
Since July, dozens of operators in Chile have been registered and paying VAT in the country, despite a Supreme Court ruling that banned online betting and ordered unlicensed sites to be blocked.
Speaking to NEXT.io in September, AGR president Sandra Kemp said the state was “applying a patch when we need a law.”
Dingnews.com 12/11/2026