Chile Senators Table Online Gambling Ban Amendments As Deadline Closes
Chile's Senate has received more than 500 amendments to its online betting bill, including competing proposals that would ban private online gambling platforms outright or reserve the market for existing lottery operators.
The deadline closed at midday on October 26, 2026.
The bill, number 14,838-03, was first submitted in 2022 and is in its second constitutional stage in the Senate.
Our casino news section covers other regulatory shifts in Latin America.
From Licensing Market To Prohibition
The Senate approved the bill in principle in August 2025 by 27 votes to three, with five abstentions.
As drafted, it set out a regulated private market with licensing, taxation, ownership disclosure and player protection.
The government missed an earlier deadline of October 16.
Senate committees granted 10 more days after the executive requested time for technical discussions, and Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado said several meetings had already taken place.
The Full-Ban Proposal
Senators Gastón Saavedra, who chairs the Economy Committee, and Diego Ibáñez replaced the first article of the bill with a prohibition on developing, operating, managing, offering, brokering, or advertising online gambling platforms and online casinos operating in Chile.
A platform would count as operating in the country if it accepts bets from within Chilean territory, regardless of where its servers are located.
Violators would face between six months and three years in prison, with fines ranging from $14,480 to $72,844 in US dollar terms.
Internet providers, app platforms and payment companies would have to block access and transactions, and platforms registered with the tax authority could get a transition period of up to 24 months.
The proposal would leave the existing regimes for Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, Lotería de Concepción, authorised racecourses and land-based casinos in place.
The Lottery-Only Alternative
Senate president Paulina Núñez filed a separate amendment that would reserve online gambling for entities expressly authorised by law, which in practice means the two state-linked lotteries.
They would not be allowed to launch new gambling products beyond what they already offer.
Her text includes permanent judicial blocking, criminal liability for companies, fines of up to 10,000 monthly tax units and prison terms of up to 15 years in aggravated cases.
Fines on illegal operators would run from $72,821 to $364,238, and from $14,566 to $145,667 for promoting such platforms. People who knowingly finance or promote illegal sites would also be penalised.
Núñez told colleagues that online betting sites are not an innocent business and can cause addiction and debt.
Her proposal pairs the restrictions with identity verification, voluntary betting limits and self-exclusion.
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What Happens Next
The Senate committees must now work through the amendments before the bill can move forward. The Senate's own document of amendments lists the proposals.
Senator Matías Walker argued in the August 2025 debate that regulation would work better than a ban, which would not eliminate the market. The new amendments mark a clear departure from that position.
Separately, Chile's casino regulator, the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego, reopened a tender for two casino operating permits in October.
Land-based gaming is not touched by either proposal. Readers can find our guidance on safe play in the responsible gambling hub.
