The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the bill regulating the development of online betting platforms (Bill No. 14838-0), with the objectives to protect the health and safety of gamblers; create conditions for a competitive market between these platforms and the currently legal forms of gambling such as the lottery Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, Lotería de Concepción, casinos, and horse racing.
The bill—which is in its second constitutional procedure and is classified as urgent—now must be put to a vote in the Senate Chamber. If approved in this instance, a period will be opened for presenting amendments, followed by particular processing in the Economy and Finance committees.
The Deputy Secretary of Finance, Heidi Berner, addressed the concerns of representatives from companies in the sector regarding various aspects of the project. Regarding the proposed tax burden, she stated: “We carried out an exercise with the Superintendence of Casinos based on public financial statements of some of the large betting platform companies operating in various parts of the world; when including the 19% VAT, our findings show that the tax burden does not exceed 28%. The legislative debate will determine whether the burden should remain as is or be modified.”
She continued, “The way this tax burden is calculated includes generally applicable taxes like VAT, which operates with necessary credit and debit rules to generate income. Furthermore, we believe we cannot incorporate exceptions to this tax since we apply VAT to all digital services, regardless of whether they come from local or foreign providers.”
Berner highlighted that the Public Prosecutor’s Office proposed, during the hearings for the bill creating the Economic Intelligence Subsystem, to improve the classification of illegal gambling in all its forms: “Therefore, both projects are not incompatible because when this industry is regulated, those applying for a license will want illegal operators to be prosecuted by law. The question is how we can ensure that both projects, currently in their second procedure, progress appropriately.”
Regarding responsible gaming policies, she emphasized that the goal is to prevent minors and adolescents from gambling. One of the goals of the bill is to incorporate rules that allow for blocking platforms and imposing restrictions on gambling and betting in all forms, including biometric identification, payment method blocks, and other technological tools.
Berner also pointed out that all key stakeholders have requested lobby meetings to propose or suggest amendments to the bill.
Finally, she called for collaboration on amendments regarding the issues raised during the hearings received in the Finance Committee—chaired by Senator Ximena Rincón—to strengthen the necessary regulation of this activity proposed in the legal initiative.
This bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on December 12, 2023, with broad support from various sectors. Upon reaching the Senate, the bill was sent to both the Economy and Finance Committees, as well as technical committees. The Senate Economy Committee approved the bill generally on April 2, 2024, with the unanimous support of its members.
The Finance Committee began its analysis on July 16, with a presentation by Deputy Secretary Berner. Since then, it has held hearings with operator Super Group, the Chilean Casino Association, Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, constitutional lawyer Francisco Zúñiga, and various representatives from the horse racing industry. Participants also included Marina del Sol Casinos and the Agrupación de Plataformas en Línea (the Online Platform Group) which lists among its members Betsson, Betano, Coolbet, Latamwin, BetWarrior, and 1XBET.
The post Senate committee approves Chile’s online gambling bill appeared first on G3 Newswire.
The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the bill regulating the development of online betting platforms (Bill No. 14838-0), with the objectives to protect the health and safety of gamblers; create conditions for a competitive market between these platforms and the currently legal forms of gambling such as the lottery Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, Lotería de…
The post Senate committee approves Chile’s online gambling bill appeared first on G3 Newswire.