Chilean municipalities receive 12.6% less from their casinos
The aggregate figures tell one story, but the breakdown paints a far grimmer picture. The 18 Chilean municipalities that hosted casinos governed by Law 19,995 as of 2019 received CLP 37,692 million in specific taxes that year and CLP 32,948 million in 2025—a 12.6 percent drop, according to a report by the Asociación Chilena de Casinos de Juego published by La Tercera. However, that average conceals massive disparity: fifteen municipalities saw revenues decline, while only three recorded gains.
Rinconada is the most extreme case and the primary driver behind the aggregate figure. It dropped from CLP 4,649 million to CLP 2,838 million—a 39 percent plunge that translates to an absolute decline of CLP 1,811 million. Total revenue across all 18 municipalities fell by CLP 4,744 million, meaning a single locality accounts for 38 percent of the total lost revenue. Next in line are Castro, down 34.2 percent; Coyhaique, down 31.7 percent; Punta Arenas, down 24.3 percent; Talca, down 24.0 percent; and San Antonio, down 23.5 percent; followed by Temuco, Valdivia, Calama, Talcahuano, Osorno, Santa Cruz, Ovalle, Mostazal, and Copiapó, the latter suffering a 4.0 percent drop.
Three exceptions cushion the overall figure: Antofagasta rose by 11 percent, Los Ángeles by 12.5 percent, and Arica by 42.8 percent. Without them, the collective decline would be substantially steeper. The median among the 18 municipalities stands at a 14.9 percent decrease, and the simple average of the fifteen that lost funds reaches 18.6 percent—two metrics that capture the typical municipality's experience far better than the 12.6 percent aggregate figure.
There is a methodological caveat that the report does not resolve, further amplifying these findings. The comparison is made in nominal Chilean pesos between 2019 and 2025—a period encompassing the country's inflationary surge between 2021 and 2023. Consequently, the erosion in real purchasing power for these municipalities is significantly deeper than the percentages suggest. Furthermore, because the specific tax is split evenly—half going to the municipality and half to the regional government—every peso a municipality lost was mirrored in regional budgets.
It is worth recalling how this tax is structured, as it explains why tax revenue mirrors the fortunes of the gaming business. Casinos pay a 20 percent specific tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR), after deducting VAT and the Monthly Provisional Payment (PPM), with the law mandating that these funds be allocated to development projects. The report excludes Viña del Mar, Coquimbo, and Pucón, which in 2019 were municipal casinos and did not operate under this tax regime, leaving three of the country's most frequented gaming markets out of the comparison.
The president of the ACCJ, Cecilia Valdés, used these figures to shift the debate's focus from private profitability to local government funding. "When a casino is weakened, both the municipality and the regional government lose," she stated. Regarding online gambling, she took a more cautious stance than expected: while pointing out that competing against an illegal industry creates an unlevel playing field, she admitted that "it is difficult to gauge the real impact since, operating outside the law, they do not disclose actual domestic market data." This limitation, acknowledged by the association itself, prevents attributing the downturn to a single factor, alongside the pandemic, which also fell within the analyzed timeframe.
The final part of her argument ties into ongoing developments. Valdés asserted that half of the companies in the sector are operating at a loss and that, without fair competitive conditions, it is difficult to expect ongoing and upcoming tender processes to yield positive results. This warning has a specific target: Coyhaique, the third hardest-hit municipality with a 31.7 percent drop, is one of the jurisdictions whose license is up for re-tendering, with the bid submission hearing scheduled for April 2027. A municipality collecting one-third less than in 2019 also represents a far less attractive asset for any potential bidder.
The Asociación Chilena de Casinos de Juego brings together land-based casino operators operating under Law 19,995, the 2005 legislation that established the concession of operating licenses through tenders overseen by the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego. The specific tax mandated by that law is the primary mechanism through which the industry channels funds to the local and regional governments where venues operate.
Tags: Chile, ACCJ, casinos, specific tax