Chile’s government has moved to accelerate a bill that would prevent professional footballers from serving as the public faces of online betting operators.
The initiative, originally filed in December 2023 by Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI) deputies Marco Antonio Sulantay and Hotuiti Teao, seeks to prohibit professional players from acting as advertising faces or sponsors for online betting houses.
Both lawmakers are members of the Chamber of Deputies’ Sports Commission and have lobbied the administration of President José Antonio Kast to accelerate the bill, arguing that active players promoting platforms that take bets on their own performances creates an “evident conflict, both ethical and of interest.”
Over recent seasons, a growing number of high‑profile Chilean players have appeared in campaigns for offshore operators.
Granting “urgency” status means the Executive is asking Congress to prioritise the proposal and shorten debating timelines. Sulantay and Teao frame the measure primarily as a child‑protection tool, stressing that footballers are powerful role models for minors and that their association with betting risks normalising gambling among young fans.
They also link the bill to match‑fixing risks, pointing to international cases where commercial ties between athletes and betting brands coincided with manipulation scandals. “We cannot allow illicit activities to be carried out in Chile, nor that football be contaminated by them,” Sulantay told local media.
The proposal sits alongside a broader legislative effort to regulate online gambling platforms, introduced in 2022, which would license operators, impose consumer‑protection and integrity standards and channel new tax revenue into sport.
Deputies have argued that the player‑endorsement bill could ultimately be merged with initiatives targeting club‑level sponsorships.
In 2023 Chile’s lower house gave the go ahead to a bill presented by Sulantay that would have prohibited sports betting advertising. Although the bill had considerable support it became stalled in the senate. Instead the issue of online advertising has become part of the broader bill aimed at regulating online betting.
The post Chile fast tracks new ban on footballers promoting online betting brands appeared first on G3 Newswire.
Chile’s government has moved to accelerate a bill that would prevent professional footballers from serving as the public faces of online betting operators. The initiative, originally filed in December 2023 by Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI) deputies Marco Antonio Sulantay and Hotuiti Teao, seeks to prohibit professional players from acting as advertising faces or sponsors for…
The post Chile fast tracks new ban on footballers promoting online betting brands appeared first on G3 Newswire.