Moment of doubt for the regulation of online gambling in Chile
2022 seemed to be the year in which the exploitation of Internet games would end up being legislated in Chile, but things seem to be getting complicated. The Dreams Group, which includes the Enjoy brand, has sued Betsson for its activity in the country. Now, the authorities would try to restrict the sponsorship of clubs and sporting events.
Online gambling in Chile is looking for its legislation. ©succo/Pixabay
Bill to ban sports sponsorship
In the midst of a regional framework that tends to open up industry and regulate activity, Chile seems to be taking a step towards more restrictive policies. The deputy for the Coquimbo Region, Marco Antonio Sulantay, has advanced that he will present a project in Congress, with which he will try to prohibit online bookmakers from officiating from sponsors of clubs or sporting events . There are already numerous cases of sponsorship of this type in the country, which contribute millions of dollars to local institutions.
Deputy Sulantay also expressed that this project comes in response to the lack of legislation on the matter. If the Ministry of Finance regulated the exploitation and dissemination of online gambling, there would be no need to impose sanctions on its advertising campaigns. In this way, they could laundering the assets of companies and taxing their activity , as has been done in Chile with the platforms of streaming .
The legislator also pointed out the contradiction that there is no a legal framework for the online industry in the country , but that at the same time their advertising is allowed at mega-events of the sport. There are great brands in the sector that are present in clothing, posters and press panels. The University of Chile, for example, has signed a recent agreement of this kind with Betano , an operator of Greek origin.
Deputy Sulantay is also part of the Chamber's Sports Committee, with which his voice has a strong impact among sports entities. The view of the legislator and the group he represents is deeply conservative, because the only thing he sees in online betting is a potential danger to society, without taking into account the advances in safe gambling that have occurred in recent times, nor the economic profitability of the activity , so needed in times of crisis and recession.
Conflict between casinos in Chile
This bill could be seen as the authorities' reaction to the recent legal dispute between Dreams Group's Monticello Casino and Betsson . Earlier this year, former prosecutors Vinko Fodich and Alejandro Peña filed a complaint on behalf of the Monticello Casino of the Dreams Group, in which they pointed to the Betsson company. This operator is the sponsor official of one of the most important clubs in the country, Colo-Colo, but it is just one of the many that works this way in the country.
The complaint was filed at the Eastern Metropolitan Prosecutor's Office. In it, the Dreams Group demands that the justice investigate all the parties that make the marketing and marketing of online betting possible . Chile's operators are not certified by the Superintendencia de Casinos, which has no authority in the area, but by foreign entities of a private nature.
From the Dreams Group they also pointed out the inconvenience of the lack of legislation on an economic activity that already exists . This gray area in the regulations threatens asset control and puts users at risk. In that sense, the corporation would welcome the implementation of the online gaming law, if it is finally dealt with this year. In this way, it could make official the omnichannel dissemination of its services.
The Dreams Group acquired Enjoy S.A. a few months ago , thus giving rise to the largest block of the sector in all of Latin America. The company controls 60% of the industry in Chile , and has locations in neighboring countries such as Peru and Argentina. With such weight, it is not surprising that his denunciation of Betsson has triggered reactions in the Legislative Branch.
Online gambling, an activity that demands a regulation
During 2021, the Chilean authorities were close to addressing the issue in the parliamentary chambers, but there was no conclusive progress. The Undersecretary of Finance and the Superintendence of Gaming Casinos has the issue on the agenda and it is expected that this year there will be an effective treatment .
Other countries in the region they have already embarked on the path of regulation . Colombia has had a comprehensive law for 10 years and has become a continental center of entrepreneurship. In Argentina there is no legislation for the whole country, because the matter depends on the governorates of each province. Most of them took the step of approving online gambling in the course of last year; among them, the City and the Province of Buenos Aires. In Brazil, the gambling law already has half a sanction in the Chamber of Deputies.
