Chilean deputies demand gaming law unlocking amid football revolt
Roberto Arroyo and Patricio Briones denounce that the start of the Primera A openly defies the rulings of the Supreme Court. The legislators ask the Senate to reactivate the stalled projects to move from the gray area to a regulated market with fair tax burdens.
The start of the First Division championship in Chile has reactivated the debate about online gambling advertising, but this time with a compelling statistical fact: 100% of the clubs participating have sponsorship from a betting house. This reality has motivated deputies Roberto Arroyo (PSC) and Patricio Briones (PDG) to demand legislative urgency to resolve the legal contradiction the country is facing.
Both parliamentarians expressed their concern about what they consider an open challenge to institutional authority. Although the Supreme Court declared the operation of these platforms illegal in 2023, the absence of a modern regulatory framework and the lack of effective oversight have allowed operators to consolidate their position as the main financiers of national sports.
Stalled projects in the Senate
"We are facing a serious problem because those who have to oversee and ensure the law is enforced are not doing what is required," fired Deputy Arroyo, a member of the Sports Commission. The legislator emphasized that the solution is not magical, but political: progress must be made on the two projects that have been dormant in the Senate for years (one seeking to regulate the activity and another proposing to ban its advertising).
The deputies’ stance has shifted from prohibitionism to pragmatism. Arroyo stressed the need to "urgently advance a bill that regulates sports betting," implicitly acknowledging that a total ban is unfeasible in the current digital context.
"It is not about banning for the sake of banning"
For his part, Patricio Briones, elected deputy and a historic figure in Chilean basketball, contributed the perspective from within the sport. He described it as "unacceptable" that a professional league operates in a legal vacuum but qualified the solution.
"It is not just about banning for the sake of banning, but about regulating, establishing fair tax burdens, and ensuring that sports funding is ethical," Briones stated. Both legislators agreed that only formal regulation will provide legal certainty to the clubs, allow the State to collect the corresponding taxes, and establish real barriers to protect minors, thus closing the chapter of the "gray area" in Chile.
Tags: Chile, online betting Chile, Chile betting regulation