Chile: bill against gambling ads in sports moves to Senate

The bill would prohibit agreements between clubs and sports betting operators.

Chile.- A bill to ban agreements between sports clubs and betting operators has been approved by Chile’s Chamber of Deputies. The Senate will now carry out its own legislative review of the proposal, after which it will be submitted to Parliament for debate and a vote.

The aim of the bill, bulletin N°14.892-29, is to protect sports against the threat of match-fixing and to protect minors from exposure to online gambling. It would ban sports betting advertising in all sports, covering clothing and stadium sponsorship and ads among clubs, associations, federations and private companies.

It would also ban those involved in sports organisations, including shareholders, from having a direct or indirect relationship with any online betting platform. Potential punishments for infractions include removal from the register of professional sports organisations.

Deputy Roberto Arroyo stressed that online sports betting is illegal in Chile but that operators had “mocked the Sports Commission” and the Chamber of Deputies. Deputy Juan Antonio Coloma said a term should be set to impose a date by which current deals must end.

The only forms of gambling regulated in Chile are sweepstakes operated by the state-controlled lottery and the country’s land-based casinos. A bill proposing the regulation of online sports betting was introduced last year, however, Chilean players already readily access many online sports betting operators despite the lack of local regulation.