Chile's SII begins auditing platforms without VAT
Chile's Internal Revenue Service (SII) will launch a new phase of oversight on Wednesday, July 15, targeting foreign online sports betting and digital casino platforms operating with Chilean users. The measure will affect operators who have not registered to declare and pay the Value Added Tax (VAT) established by Exempt Resolution 69, in effect since June 2. The decision comes after the agency confirmed that, as of July 13, no online betting platform had registered to comply with this obligation.
Given this scenario, the SII announced that it will publish a resolution with the list of platforms that will be subject to the digital VAT reverse charge mechanism. From that moment on, entities that process payments, such as banks, card issuers, and other payment service providers, will be responsible for withholding the 19 percent corresponding to VAT on each transaction and remitting it to the treasury. The system will rely on information the agency receives from banking, non-banking entities, and payment service providers, a methodology it has been using since 2021 to oversee the digital services of foreign companies. According to SII records, during 2025, at least 20 online betting platforms operated in Chile and, collectively, registered over four million transactions.
In parallel with the start of the oversight, the agency provided further clarification on the tax base. It confirmed that the general rule will be to consider the amounts wagered by individuals domiciled in Chile, but that, when the platform can reliably prove the amount of prizes actually paid, the tax may be calculated on the difference between bets received and prizes paid out, i.e., on the operator's margin. The general rate of 19 percent will be applied to the base resulting from either of these mechanisms. This clarification complements the criteria that the SII had already established through Official Letter 1,658, which opened the possibility of taxing on the margin when the operator could demonstrate it with documentation.
The start of the oversight comes as legislative debate continues on the bill seeking to regulate the online betting market in Chile. The SII's decision to demand VAT payment generated mixed reactions in the industry. The Chilean Association of Online Betting Platforms maintained that the measure provides tax certainty and represents a step towards future regulation, while the Chilean Association of Gaming Casinos questioned it, considering that it could be interpreted as an indirect regularization of operators whose activity still lacks a specific framework. The agency, for its part, reiterated that its powers are limited to the tax sphere and that applying VAT does not imply a pronouncement on the legality of the operations.
Tags: Internal Revenue Service, VAT on online betting in Chile, Exempt Resolution 69, digital VAT reverse charge