Chilean prosecutor to seek up to 25 years in prison for illegal casino
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Chile has formally accused the network charged with operating five illegal casinos in the city of Concepción, in the Biobío region, and is preparing to take the case to oral trial. The prosecutor in charge, Pamela Lillo, specializing in economic crimes, requested sentences ranging from 540 days to 25 years in prison for the ten accused, in one of the most significant cases in recent years against illegal gambling in the south of the country.
The accusation is built upon four central criminal offenses. The prosecutor imputes the crimes of illicit association, money laundering, illegal trade, and fraudulent administration, a combination aimed at dismantling the entire business structure and prosecuting both the owners of the establishments and those who participated in the circulation and laundering of money generated by the venues.
The highest penalty is reserved for the alleged leader of the organization, Marlo Alarcón Opazo, for whom a 25-year sentence is requested. Previous investigations by the Public Prosecutor's Office in this same case had revealed daily deposits of between 20 and 40 million Chilean pesos by those responsible for the establishments, in addition to the use of beauty centers and other formal businesses as vehicles to launder illegal gambling profits.
The Concepción case is particularly sensitive because it occurs in a country that has not yet approved online gambling legislation and where the land-based offering is concentrated in a handful of operators authorized by the Superintendence of Gaming Casinos (SCJ). While the SCJ proceeds with the tender for the casinos in Viña del Mar, Pucón, Iquique, and Coquimbo and faces questions about the awarding processes, the prosecutor's office highlights that the clandestine circuit found space in important southern cities, with a significant economic volume.
The case serves as a reference for regional debate. In Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, and other markets with partial or transitional frameworks, networks of clandestine casinos often involve money laundering, links to parallel economies, and fraudulent administrations, replicating the pattern that Prosecutor Lillo is now trying to prove in court. For Latin American regulators, the Chilean precedent sets the standard for how criminal justice can support gambling regulatory policy beyond administrative sanctions.
Tags: Chile, Concepcion, Biobio, illegal casinos Chile, money laundering Chile, Public Prosecutor's Office Chile