“Te higher the tax, beyond a certain balance point, the channelling and collection begin to be lost and the illegal market grows. Since operators have no borders on the Internet and meet a demand that is natural to players – almost 20 per cent of Chileans have played at some point – they do not pay taxes, are not subject to regulations and can deliver more attractive offers to players.” Heidi Berner, the Undersecretary of Telecommunications


matters within its jurisdiction namely levies, taxes and expenses. Te project was approved in the same session, unanimously and the project was sent to the Chamber. Tere it found cross party support receiving 80 votes in favour, 36 against and 18 abstentions. It was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on December 11.


THE BILL IN SENATE In January the bill was presented for further scrutiny in the Economy Commission in the Senate. Once again members of the commission received presentations from a wide number of government bodies as well as stakeholders. In March the commission received presentations from the Association of Online Betting Platforms, the SCJ and Polla Chilena de Beneficencia who reiterated their positions on the issue. Meanwhile the Concepción Lottery in a written presentation


placed a special emphasis on efforts that the government should be making to combat illegal gambling. Te Internal Revenue Service detailed how the industry would be taxed during its presentation and Te Specialized Unit in Money Laundering, Economic Crimes, Environmental Crimes, and Organized Crime (ULDECCO) provided a positive assessment of the overall project. Also present during the discussions were Heidi Berner, the


Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Claudio Araya and María Cristina Romero de Alba, a Spanish lawyer and an expert in gaming and internet gambling law. During the session, Heidi Berner emphasised that the bill


sought to protect users and make resources transparent. María Cristina Romero meanwhile highlighted the links between channelisation and the tax rate. “Te higher the tax, beyond a certain balance point, the


channelling and collection begin to be lost and the illegal market grows. Since operators have no borders on the Internet and meet a demand that is natural to players – almost 20 per cent of Chileans have played at some point – they do not pay taxes, are not subject to regulations and can deliver more attractive offers to players,” she said.


THE BILL IN ITS CURRENT FORM In April the Senate Economics Committee unanimously approved in general the bill Bulletin No. 14838-03. Te bill, which has qualified as urgent, must now be submitted to a vote in the Senate Chamber, so that senators have the opportunity to express their opinions on the matter. If approved, a new period will open for any new amendments that might be put forward. In the context of the general vote, Heidi Berner, along with Senators Kenneth Pugh, Gastón Saavedra, Gustavo Sanhueza, and Senator Loreto Carvajal, agreed to continue working on amendments with their advisors on certain issues of the bill as well as new topics raised in the session and others that may arise from future hearings. Although the bill has not yet been approved we are already


getting a pretty clear idea as to what online gambling will look like in Chile once it is up and running. Firstly any operator who has been present in the market will be absent for the first year due to a mandatory cooling off period. Tis is because those companies that have been present in


the market 36 months prior to the law coming into effect will not be able to apply for licenses until 12 months have elapsed. Te new law includes criteria for the SCJ to identify platforms that have been operating within Chile. Te cooling off period is one of the aspects of the bill which


had garnered the most support as it was developed in the committee stage in the lower house. In the view of lawmakers, the text prevents the perception that the new law will result in a "whitewashing" or forgiveness for companies that have been operating without a licence in Chile. We are also likely to see a number of operators who have


not been present in the market begin to appear in the market fairly quickly. Tis is because a process for granting temporary licenses will be established for applicants who have not offered online gambling in Chile in the past 12 months. However these online operators will need to demonstrate compliance with technical standards from other jurisdictions that, as determined by the SJC, are similar to those of Chilean law, in addition to meeting other requirements.


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