Chile’s regulated casino sector reported a 4.5% decline in gross gaming revenue in 2025, with an unlicensed online market estimated at $3.1 billion continuing to expand unchecked, according to the annual report of the Asociación Chilena de Casinos y Juegos (ACCJ).
Land-based GGR fell to CLP509.8 billion ($597.5 million) last year. Total tax collection from the sector dropped 4.7% in real terms to CLP214 million. Visits to Law 19.995-authorised casinos declined 7.2% year-on-year to 926,873.
Chile operated 25 casinos in 2025 — 22 licensed under Law 19.995 and three municipal venues undergoing regulatory transition. The stable number of establishments offered little protection against broader deterioration in the sector’s financial performance.
Illegal Market Scale
The ACCJ estimates Chile’s illegal online gambling market at approximately $3.1 billion, a figure that dwarfs the licensed sector’s registered revenue. The association’s report frames the gap as evidence of a regulated market steadily losing commercial ground to unauthorised platforms, many of them operating offshore beyond Chilean regulatory reach.
The issue reached the country’s highest court during 2025, with a Chilean Supreme Court ruling mandating the blocking of illegal betting websites. The ACCJ cited the ruling as a necessary step toward curtailing operators siphoning revenues and compromising consumer protections.
ACCJ President Cecilia Valdes said: “We deeply appreciate the Supreme Court’s clear ruling on online gambling platforms, stating that they are illegal in Chile.”
Under current Chilean law, gambling is legal only through the Concepción Lottery, Polla Chilena, racetracks, or expressly authorised gambling casinos.
Legislative Activity
The ACCJ provided technical input to two significant legislative processes in 2025.
The first, Boletín 14.838-03, is a bill regulating online betting platforms. It passed a general Senate vote on 13 August by 27 votes in favour, three against, and five abstentions before proceeding to committee stage for further amendments.
The second, Boletín 15.975-25, proposes establishing a “Subsistema de Inteligencia Económica” — a framework designed to alert authorities about organised crime-linked financial activity.
Throughout both processes, the ACCJ submitted detailed technical memoranda. Its core argument is that forthcoming regulations must impose balanced obligations on all operators: tax requirements, transaction traceability, consumer protection standards, and enforceable compliance measures that prevent newly legalised platforms from benefiting from previously illegal operations.
The association also flagged a sharp rise in clandestine venues through coordination with municipal governments, prosecutors, the Internal Revenue Service (SII), and police. Illicit operations were identified in Antofagasta, Ovalle, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Los Ángeles, Castro, and municipalities surrounding Santiago. The ACCJ linked these venues to broader informal economies, tax evasion, and in some instances organised crime. Chile’s regulatory challenge mirrors pressures elsewhere in the region — Brazil’s government proposed doubling its betting tax in 2025 amid similar concerns about market integrity, while Mexico advanced a proposal to raise its gambling tax from 30% to 50% of GGR in response to rapid sector growth.
Youth Exposure to Online Gambling
A national study published in 2025 — Pantallas que atrapan: Radiografía del juego online en jóvenes chilenos, coordinated by the Corporación de Juego Responsable and Corporación Copreventive — provided the first extensive national data on young Chileans’ engagement with online betting.
The findings were notable across several dimensions. 26% of young people reported placing online bets within the previous 12 months, with an average age at gambling initiation of 15.5 years. 92% had encountered gambling advertising via social media or livestream platforms. 79% wagered less than CLP10,000 per bet. 62% played video games incorporating chance mechanisms such as loot boxes.
The ACCJ used these results to extend its engagement beyond industry stakeholders, reaching health professionals and ministry officials. The association’s position is that effective regulation must be paired with digital literacy programmes, education, and mental health prevention measures to address youth gambling risks adequately.
Outlook
Chile’s two pending bills — the online betting regulation and the economic intelligence framework — are both at legislative stages where industry input will continue to shape their final form. The ACCJ’s 2025 data makes the stakes clear: at an estimated $3.1 billion, the illegal market is the primary addressable opportunity, and the pace of legislative progress will determine how much of it the regulated sector can reclaim. Chile’s experience contrasts with Brazil, where a licensed market opened to competition in 2025 and generated $7 billion in GGR in its first year — a precedent that may inform arguments for accelerated Chilean reform.
Source: Asociación Chilena de Casinos y Juegos (ACCJ)
