Chile: Polla files Conar complaint over online casino ads
The battle against online betting platforms in Chile has opened a new front. In an unprecedented offensive, Polla Chilena de Beneficencia turned to the Advertising Self-Regulation and Ethics Council, known as Conar, not to target foreign sportsbooks, but local advertising agencies and production companies responsible for creating and broadcasting their commercial campaigns in the country.
The state-owned company's action directly targets the advertising agency Ampfy and the audiovisual production companies Enelblanco.TV, Draff.tv, and PartnerProd.cl. These four companies are accused of their active role in the creation, production, and dissemination of advertising pieces broadcast during 2025 to promote platforms such as Coolbet, Jugabet, Betano, and Rojabet, aimed at the public in national territory.
A complaint focused on minors and adolescents
The complaint is based on an alleged infringement of the Chilean Advertising Ethics Code. Polla individualizes the role of each company. It attributes to Enelblanco.TV the creation of commercials for Coolbet featuring former soccer player Claudio Bravo and a corporate mascot, and indicates that a minor appears in one of the pieces, arguing that the material uses figures aimed at a child and adolescent audience and omits the risks of gambling.
Draff.tv is singled out for a Jugabet video with animations and visual elements similar to a video game, which, according to the document, seeks to capture the attention of young audiences by presenting the platform as a mobile application. The Ampfy agency is linked to Betano campaigns broadcast on sports channels, with people betting from mobile devices in a beach setting, which for Polla normalizes the activity and hides its economic consequences. PartnerProd.cl is attributed television commercials for Rojabet that associate sports knowledge and betting on soccer matches.
The action is part of a broader legal strategy. In 2023, the state-owned company filed a lawsuit that was joined by Club Hípico, Hipódromo de Chile, and casinos such as Enjoy, Marina del Sol, and Dreams. The filing was eventually archived by the Public Prosecutor's Office, and today only the lawsuits from Club Hípico and Hipódromo de Chile against online casinos for alleged violation of the Horse Racing Law remain active. Despite this setback, in February, the entity returned with a new lawsuit against payment processing companies for money laundering and crimes associated with illegal online casinos and sportsbooks.
The responses have already begun to reach Conar. From PartnerProd, its founder admitted having filmed on commission and acknowledged not having considered the ethical aspect. EnelBlanco.tv argued that it only participated in the production and that distribution was planned for international markets, while Draff maintained that its work was limited, carried out about four years ago, and without subsequent control over its dissemination. The Chilean case is part of a discussion taking place in much of Latin America, where regulators and state operators seek to limit the advertising advance of online casinos and protect minors and adolescents from an environment saturated with betting messages.
Tags: Chile, betting advertising Chile, CONAR Chile, online betting advertising