Chile orders football federation to drop betting sponsorship deal
The government has given the ANFP until the end of the month to drop Betsson’s title sponsorship of the Chilean First Division.
Chile.- The government of Chile is still working on legislation to regulate online gambling. In the meantime, it has ordered sports bodies to respect a Supreme Court ruling that clarifies that online gambling is currently illegal. It’s given the Chilean Football Federation (ANFP) until September 30 to end its Chilean First Division title sponsorship deal with Betsson, which has two years left to run.
The Supreme Court ordered the government to block access to online gambling sites earlier this month after the state-owned lottery and pools operator Polla Chilena de Beneficencia lodged a complaint against the activity, which it says is detrimental to its business.
As a result, the Supreme Court ruled that 23 operators are working illegally in the county. It named them as bwin, Betano, Betway, Betcris, Betsson, BetWarrior, BetSala, Betfair, Betplay, Bodog, bet365, Coolbet, JuegaenLinea, 1xbet, Rivalo, Rojabet, Micasino, Latamwin, Estelarbet, KTO, Marathonbet, Rushbet and Sportingbet.
Various football clubs have contracts with online sports betting operators. The ANFP has been seeking an agreement to protect them while legislation is drawn up. Its president Pablo Milad has said he will go to the Court of Appeals to fight the new ruling. He argues that Chilean law has no legal precedent allowing the ANFP to block clubs’ partnerships with online gambling firms.
Chile’s online gambling legislation
Chile is working on proposals to regulate online gambling by the end of this year. The government has accepted resolutions proposed by the Chamber of Deputies Economic Commission, comprising 15 new articles that define the online gambling activities to be licensed and those to be prohibited.
Drafted by economic undersecretary Heidi Berner with the assistance of Vivien Villagrán, the superintendent of Gaming Casinos Chile (SCJ), the articles are part of the legislative framework for Bill 035/2022, which will legalise online gambling and sports betting.
Since the bill was authorised in March, government departments have been working on policy provisions. The new articles set out the context for the prosecution of criminal activity connected to online gambling, introducing criminal penalties for the violation of online gambling regulations.
Last month, the National Congress announced the creation of a commission to review Chile’s rules on sports betting advertising. The commission, led by sports minister Jaime Pizarro, will review the relationships between football clubs and both international and domestic gambling companies. It will also probe a disagreement between the National Association of Professional Football (ANFP) and the Ministry of Justice about betting sponsorship.
