Chile updates anti-money laundering regulations for casinos
The Financial Analysis Unit and the Superintendency of Gaming Casinos of Chile published a new joint circular aimed at strengthening the system for preventing money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the 25 gaming casinos operating in the country. The measure updates a framework in force since 2014 and aligns it with the standards of the unit's Circular 62 and international recommendations on the matter, coming into effect on October 1, 2026.
Among the main changes, the regulation incorporates a risk-based approach that must be integrated into the policies and procedures of operating companies and municipal concessionaires, and establishes higher requirements for the analysis and reporting of suspicious transactions, in addition to differentiated due diligence measures according to the client's risk profile. It also introduces new internal governance obligations, including the establishment of a prevention committee composed of at least three board members, the general manager, and the compliance officer, semi-annual meetings, and annual internal audits of the system.
The circular also reinforces the requirements for compliance officers, who must hold managerial positions, have functional independence, and have sufficient human and technological resources. Operating companies must implement due diligence and know-your-customer processes, collecting information for transactions equal to or greater than $3,000 and reinforced measures for politically exposed persons and high-risk clients. The regulation maintains the obligation to report suspicious transactions without minimum thresholds, provides for the semi-annual submission of reports on cash transactions exceeding $10,000, and requires the retention of electronic records of transactions, clients, and risk analyses for a minimum period of five years.
Marcelo Contreras, acting director of the unit, stated that the circular updates a framework that had not undergone substantive modifications for more than a decade, with a risk-based approach and standards in line with international recommendations, and considered that the joint work with the superintendency reflects the commitment of both institutions to a robust prevention system. For his part, Eduardo Cáceres, acting superintendent of Gaming Casinos, stressed that the update is the result of a close working relationship between the two bodies and specified that more than half of the inspections carried out during 2025 on the matter were conducted jointly. The new circular repeals two instruments issued in 2014 and establishes that the instructions will be subject to inspection and eventual sanctions by both entities, with permanent coordination to avoid duplication.
Tags: Financial Analysis Unit, Superintendency of Casinos of Gaming, anti-money laundering, risk-based approach