Chile Online Betting Tracker – Bill Stalled, 19% Offshore VAT From 1 August
Chile's online betting bill is stuck in the Senate while the SII moves first – card issuers must withhold 19% VAT from Bet365, PokerStars and more from 1 Aug.
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Chile Online Betting Tracker – Bill Stalled, 19% Offshore VAT From 1 August
Chile's online gambling bill has been in Congress since 2022 and is stalled again – but the tax agency stopped waiting. Since 1 August 2026, card issuers and payment processors have been withholding 19% VAT from payments to Bet365, PokerStars, Roobet and other unregistered offshore operators, remitting it to the SII monthly. We track both fronts.
Key Takeaways
- Bill 14838-03 is stuck in joint Senate committee review despite top-priority "suma urgencia" status.
- From 1 August, Chilean card issuers withhold 19% VAT on named offshore gambling sites.
- 25 platforms – including Betano, Betway and 1xBet – registered with the SII to pay VAT voluntarily.
- The bill proposes 20% GGR tax, 19% VAT, 15% winnings tax and a 31% back-tax on offshore income.
- An estimated 5 million+ Chileans bet on unregulated platforms today.
Where the bill actually stands
Chile is LatAm's biggest regulation-shaped hole. Brazil launched a licensed market, Colombia has had one for a decade, Peru went live in 2024 under a MINCETUR licence – and Chile still has no legal framework for online betting at all. Bill 14838-03 is the fix, and its progress reads like a stress test for legislative patience.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Mar 2022 | Bill introduced (Boletín 14838-03) |
| Dec 2023 | Passed Chamber of Deputies |
| Apr 2024 | Senate Economy Committee approval (unanimous) |
| 4 Aug 2025 | Senate Finance Committee approval (unanimous) |
| 14 Aug 2025 | Senate floor approves "en general", 27–3–5 |
| May 2026 | Amendments deadline lapses; government applies suma urgencia |
| Jun 2026 | Talks stall; technical working group formed between Senate advisors and Hacienda |
| Jul 2026 | Article-by-article review continues in joint Economy + Finance committees |
The pattern since August 2025 is approval in principle, then pause after pause on the details – the main sticking point being how the upgraded regulator (the SCJ, to be renamed the Superintendencia de Casinos, Apuestas y Juegos de Azar) divides authority with the SII tax agency. Even with maximum urgency attached, passage before Q4 2026 looks unlikely. We will update this tracker as the committees move.
"Fast-tracked" is technically true and practically meaningless. The bill has top legislative priority and still cannot get out of committee. Treat every Chilean launch timeline you read with suspicion.
What is in the bill
The proposed framework stacks up heavier than the headline 20% suggests:
- 20% tax on gross gaming revenue
- 19% standard VAT
- 1% levy for a responsible-gambling fund
- 15% tax on player winnings at withdrawal
- 2% of sports-betting revenue to national sports federations
- A one-off 31% "regularisation" tax on an unlicensed operator's prior 36 months of Chilean income – the price of entry for offshore brands that want a licence
Government officials put the combined operator burden at "no more than 28%" of GGR. That is above Brazil's rate and in the range where, as Colombia's VAT experiment just demonstrated, taxation starts moving players back to the black market instead of funding the state.
The taxman didn't wait for Congress
While the Senate deliberates, the SII quietly built a parallel regime out of existing tax law – and July was its busiest month yet.
On 9 July, the SII redefined the VAT taxable base for online casinos and betting platforms. By mid-July, 25 platforms – Betano, Betway, Novibet, 1xBet among them – had registered under the simplified digital-VAT regime, effectively paying Chilean tax without a Chilean licence existing. Then on 15 July, Exempt Resolution Nº94 named roughly ten non-compliant operators – including Bet365, PokerStars, LeoVegas and Roobet – whose payments will face mandatory 19% VAT withholding by card issuers and payment processors from 1 August 2026.
That last mechanism matters. Chile is not blocking sites or prosecuting operators; it is taxing them at the payment rail, the same pressure point every serious regulator eventually reaches for. For crypto-first brands like Roobet the withholding only bites card deposits – one more reason crypto rails keep absorbing gray-market gambling volume faster than regulators can name operators in resolutions.
The market Congress is arguing over
The numbers explain the urgency. An estimated 5 million+ Chileans bet on unregulated foreign platforms, with over 80% of betting activity offshore and industry estimates putting $3.1 billion+ in annual flows to unlicensed sites. Hacienda projects US$800 million+ in annual tax collection from just the five biggest legal-market candidates once the law passes.
Chile is also the test case for a question we keep tracking across the region: whether LatAm's mobile-and-instant-payment betting boom can be brought onshore before offshore habits harden. Brazil's first regulated year says yes, at a price; the broader LatAm playbook says the window narrows every year a market stays gray. Kenya is running the same regulator-versus-taxman race on another continent right now – there, the taxes went live while the licensing regime collapsed into court.
Until Chile licenses operators, no site accepting Chilean players holds a local licence – whatever its ads imply. If you play anyway, at least understand what the operator's actual licence covers, because Chilean courts and regulators offer you no protection.
What we are watching
- Post-1 August – VAT withholding at card issuers is live and remitted monthly; watch for operator exits or crypto-only pivots
- Q3 committee sessions – outcomes of the extraordinary July hearings with international experts have not been published yet
- New amendments deadline – none confirmed since May's lapsed; its announcement is the real signal the bill is moving
- SII registry churn – who moves between the compliant and non-compliant lists ahead of enforcement
FAQ
Is online gambling legal in Chile?
It is unregulated, not licensed. No operator holds a Chilean online gambling licence because no licensing framework exists yet. Land-based casinos are legal and regulated by the SCJ; online betting happens on offshore platforms in a legal gray zone.
What is Chile's Bill 14838-03?
It is the bill that would create Chile's first online gambling licensing regime – a 20% GGR tax plus VAT, a renamed and strengthened regulator, and a 31% regularisation charge on offshore operators' past Chilean income. It passed the Chamber of Deputies in 2023 and has been in the Senate since.
What happens on 1 August 2026?
Chilean card issuers and payment processors must withhold 19% VAT from payments to offshore gambling operators named by the SII as non-compliant, including Bet365 and PokerStars. Operators registered under the digital-VAT regime are not affected.
When will Chile's online gambling licences launch?
Realistically not before late 2026 at the earliest, and licences would only be issued after the law passes, secondary regulations are written, and the regularisation process runs. Chile has repeatedly missed earlier projections.
Sources
- Hacienda – Senate approves online betting bill in general – 27–3–5 floor vote, Aug 2025
- Senado.cl – Technical working group on betting platforms – Jun 2026 mesa técnica
- BioBioChile – Government applies suma urgencia – bill contents and priority status
- BioBioChile – SII redefines VAT base for online casinos – 9 Jul VAT ruling
- BioBioChile – SII adjusts registry for 1 August VAT withholding – Resolution Nº94, named operators
- G3 Newswire – Chile fast-tracks online betting bill – tax structure and new gaming body
- La Tribuna – Online betting regulation hits new pause – committee stall
- La Razón – 5 million Chilean bettors unprotected – offshore market size