Chile moves to block tax collection from illegal betting sites
Chile’s Chamber of Deputies has approved an amendment preventing the country’s tax authority from allocating resources to collect taxes from unauthorised online betting platforms.
The proposal passed on November 10 by 133 votes to two, with one abstention, during consideration of the 2027 national budget.
Introduced by Unión Demócrata Independiente deputy Eduardo Cretton, the amendment would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service (SII) from funding systems used to administer tax declarations and payments by online betting operators not authorised to operate in Chile.
The vote follows a controversial June decision allowing foreign gambling sites to register and pay the country’s 19% digital value-added tax.
Critics argued that collecting taxes from unauthorised betting companies risked legitimising operations that remain illegal under Chilean law.
However, the SII maintained that requiring tax payments did not grant operators permission to provide gambling services.
The amendment does not itself abolish existing tax liabilities. Instead, it targets the public resources used to administer the collection mechanism.
Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz has raised a constitutional objection, while the proposal must still pass through the Senate before becoming law.
The dispute comes as Chile continues to debate a regulatory framework for online gambling, leaving operators facing considerable legal uncertainty.
