Chile continues the debate process for ratification of the agreement. invoice trying to regulate the development of online betting platformsIt was presented to Congress earlier this year and is currently under review by the House Economic Committee.
Lawyer Carlos Baeza, director of Latamwin and representative of online betting houses in Chile Bethany, Betsson Y cool betmade a detailed analysis of the project and said “slow and steady can win the race”. You can find the full text of Baeza’s review of the bill’s content and predicted when it will become law below.
At the end of 2020, the Chilean Ministry of Finance announced that a bill to regulate online betting platforms will be submitted to Congress. The Ministry acted on the exclusive initiative of the President. While the initial intention expressed by the Treasury was that this Bill be submitted to Congress in the first term of 2021, political circumstances caused it to be delayed until March 2022, when it was presented to Congress. Congress is in the process of analyzing the standard, but progress is expected to be more fluid from now on. While this bill is unlikely to become law anytime soon, it is hoped that it will be passed in late 2023 or early 2024. This means that the time has come when potential investors should consider Chile. It is an emerging market that could become the next target for operators looking for lighter working conditions and a more financially sustainable and profitable place to do business. Once the new bill is approved, combined with the highest per capita income in the region and a bank utilization rate of around 75%, it will make Chile a very interesting market.
Contents of the bill regulating online gaming platforms
According to the Chilean Constitution, games of chance must be the subject of a law and be at the exclusive initiative of the President. There are two reasons for this: first, it imposes new taxes, and second, it establishes new faculties and changes public services.
It is a Bill of Law submitted by the Ministry of Finance, which introduces a series of amendments to the Law No. This regulatory body will be renamed the Casinos, Betting and Gaming Inspectorate (Inspectorate). The Casinos Inspectorate is already an institution with a good reputation. The bill replaces it and provides new tools to achieve these goals by empowering to supervise and control online games. He is confident that he will be an effective regulator at the moment.
The Project establishes and regulates a Use Licenses regime that allows the use of the Online Gaming Platform. As we will see, licenses that can be Public or Private. Concepts or topics covered by the project include:
The Bill establishes that bets can only be placed from a “Betting Account”. Each natural person may only have one Account on each Betting Platform. It determines that payments to these Betting Accounts can only be made through a payment method authorized by the Inspectorate. The bill prohibits operators from granting credits or credits to users of the same Online Gaming Platform.
- Online Betting Platforms: Two Concepts Introduced with the Bill of Lading
1. Only companies holding an Operating License can operate in Chile.
2. It is understood that the platforms operate in Chile and allow one or more users to place bets from the national region, regardless of the location of the infrastructure supporting their operations or the country or systems or servers hosting the domains.
Two types of Operating Licenses, namely General Operating License and Private Operating License, were handled in the project.
- Objects of Betting
Only game objects allowed by the Inspectorate can be developed. Developing objects that contain or transmit graphics, messages or sounds that threaten public order, national security, human dignity, target minors, or other content that may seriously harm the health or physical or mental development of users. Sweepstakes or lottery numbers are expressly excluded as betting objects.
The Project allows advertising of Online Gaming Platforms with certain limitations: holding an Operating License, indicating that the service is for persons over 18 years of age, and not using graphics or symbols or characters that may attract minors.
- Technical standards and certificates
Online Gaming Platforms can only operate if they use software, equipment, systems, terminals and servers that comply with the standards set by the Inspectorate and are duly documented by organizations authorized by the Undersecretariat. The project enables the creation of the Approving Bodies Register.
The inspectorate is responsible for supervising compliance with the regulations. The bill identifies violations (minor, serious and very serious) and crimes. Anyone who develops or exploits an Online Gaming Platform without an Operating License will be punished with imprisonment. Another interesting point in terms of supervision is that the Draft Draft gives authority to file complaints to the Council of State for the crimes regulated in the Law.
- Tax burden and license fees
The Bill establishes that companies obtaining a Use License to operate the Online Gaming Platform will be subject to certain taxes.
The following economic guarantees are taken into account in the issuance of Operating Licenses: In order to assure the seriousness of the request, a bill or guarantee issued in favor of the Presidency in the form and amount determined by the Office of the Chief Prosecutor; Collateral or Deposit issued in the form and amount specified in the Regulations to guarantee the payment of the prizes to the players; Y Arrangements in the bill 10.
The Law will enter into force after the publication of the Regulations. The regulation must be issued within six months from the date of publication. Within these six months, the first call for general licenses must be made for 60 days. No further licensing will be initiated for two and a half years from the date of publication.
Summary and results
The bill will create an open and competitive licensing process that is different from and unrelated to land-based casino licenses. The bill does not specify a predetermined number of licenses, but an open market to which any company that meets the requirements can apply. It will be the market itself, not the regulator or law, that determines the number of operators and the size of the market.
Under the bill, licensed operators will enjoy a competitive advantage over unregulated platforms and some protection against informal market activity. It will be sufficient to create the necessary incentives for the operators while protecting the rights of the users. Therefore, a significant migration to the regulated market is likely. The bill establishes a set of mechanisms that will provide Chilean authorities with more tools to combat illegal gambling. These include, among other things, the possibility of blocking web domains and freezing payments. It also equalizes the playing field between domestic and foreign operators, and players will definitely follow this trend. The provision that licenses will be granted only to companies with Chilean shareholders means that investors interested in the Chilean market must establish a Chilean company and pay the same tax rates.
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