Chile is steadily moving towards building a regulated online gambling market, with a new partnership promising to establish a modern, well-structured legal framework for the industry. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), representing about 90% of compliant gambling operators in the UK, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Chilean Online Betting Platform Association (aPAL). Both parties will leverage international gambling regulatory experience to help Chile create a robust, sustainable, and consumer-centric gambling environment. Chile's offline casinos, horse racing, and lottery duopoly markets are already mature, but the online gambling sector has long lacked formal regulation. After years of discussion on draft bills and with political landscape changes, the government is expected to introduce a licensing system by 2027. Relevant international gambling regulatory cooperation cases and compliance standards can be referenced on the PASA official website.
Current Dilemma: Lack of Regulation Leads to Dual Absence of Players and State
Online gambling in Chile is not prohibited, but the regulatory void has led to significant issues:
Lack of protection for player rights: Without a robust consumer protection mechanism, players face multiple risks regarding fund security and betting fairness;
Complete failure of state control: Illegal gambling activities are rampant, and the government is unable to grasp the real market dynamics or collect corresponding tax revenues. Carlos Beza, a representative of aPAL and a Chilean lawyer, stated bluntly: "Chile's current online gambling is completely unregulated, with no protection for players and the state unable to see or manage, which is a gap urgently needing to be filled."
Core of Cooperation: Drawing on International Experience to Build a Balanced Regulatory Framework
BGC and aPAL, established in 2022, have reached at least one year of cooperation, focusing on three main directions:
Creating a balanced licensing system: Strengthening consumer protection and curbing illegal gambling while ensuring healthy market competition and avoiding excessive regulation that stifles industry vitality;
Exporting international best practices: BGC will share the UK's mature regulatory model, including strict licensing standards, operational norms, and efficient supervision mechanisms;
Providing empirical support: Both parties will share data, knowledge, and cases to provide references for Chilean policymakers, ensuring that legislation is both locally relevant and internationally advanced. Graeme Hurst, CEO of BGC, emphasized that this is a "key node" in Chile's gambling reform, "Well-designed regulation can protect players, raise industry standards, and completely drive out harmful black markets."
Future Outlook: Licensing System to be Implemented by 2027, Reshaping the Industry Ecosystem
As the legislative process progresses, the Chilean online gambling industry will undergo a fundamental transformation:
The licensing system becomes a "game-changer": The licensing system expected to be implemented by 2027 will provide a fair competition platform for compliant operators, enabling Chilean online gambling to compete with international markets;
Illegal activities are curbed: The regulatory framework will clearly define and penalize illegal gambling, filling the current control gap and strengthening industry legality and public trust;
Achieving a win-win situation: Ultimately achieving a balance between consumer protection, market integrity, and legal supervision, ensuring player safety, effective government control, and promoting sustainable industry development.
This cooperation is not only a turning point for the Chilean online gambling industry but also provides an important example for emerging markets to introduce international regulatory experience.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
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PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
