The bill regarding the online gambling regulation in Chile remains frozen by parliamentary decision

The first appearances have come with the Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, who maintains that before processing the online gaming law it is necessary to submit the initiative to some modifications. In this direction, the purpose pursued by the ministry is to give the bill the appropriate form that allows it to be included naturally in the next tax reform, scheduled for the end of March 2023.

In this situation of extension, the lack of a regulatory text continues to leave users of gambling platforms that operate through the Internet unprotected, while promoting the growth of the underground economy attached to the sector. From these coordinates, the undersecretary of Finance, Claudia Sanhueza, maintains that the pause in the debate will allow the bill to be examined in depth and that it adapts to the demands of all participating administrations.

Sanhueza also defends that the government's objective is to address the content of Piñera's project by including it in the third axis of the tax reform, the one corresponding to corrective taxes. According to the official, this is a decision that will prevent duplicate content from being processed. In line with this question, he gives as an example the figure of the final beneficiary, which is contemplated both in the reform and in the project, thus establishing an unnecessary repetition. Sanhueza also believes that the treatment of crimes related to the online gaming industry can be carried out from the regulation that the Executive already activates in other legislated environments.

Regardless of the channel that is finally given to Piñera's project after its postponement was approved by the entire parliamentary group in the relevant commission, the truth is that it is a legislative proposal that is pregnant with tax elements. The document includes for casino operators the obligation to pay taxes on one fifth of their gross income, a tax rate that would have the purpose of replacing VAT. These companies would also have to pay 1,000 tax units for a general license, or 100 monthly tax units if the license is temporary. With the regulation proposed by the previous government, the players of these platforms would not be exempt from paying taxes either. The contribution that users should allocate to the state amounts to 15% of the benefits obtained, money that would be transferred directly to the treasury at the time the prizes are collected. Along the same lines, sports betting houses with an online presence would allocate 2% of their income to the federations to which the teams involved belong, and 1% to advertising programs that promote responsible gambling.

If the bill ends up completing its resolution in the coming weeks, the Superintendence of Casinos, Betting and Games of Chance would be the entity in charge of managing everything related to virtual gaming in the country. Among its functions would be, among others, to supervise that the operators are indeed legal online casinos in Chile that comply with the tax law and that they are registered in the country. The objective behind the action of an organization like this is none other than to combat fraud and the underground economy. Not surprisingly, it is estimated that the state could collect around 55 million pesos.

With this scenario still frozen, pending a decisive debate, Claudia Sanhueza has shown her predisposition to dialogue, estimating that the project is about to be completed and that there are still numerous points for improvement. In this sense, the undersecretary points out the need to incorporate an article that sanctions conduct contrary to ethical gambling, such as the delivery of welcome bonuses by operators. For its part, with urgency in mind, the Superintendence reports that in the current financial year more than twenty lawsuits have been filed against companies that participate in the market illegally. It's time to act.