Chile's Supreme Court declares online betting sites illegal and orders the blockage of over 20 platforms

The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Chile issued a ruling in which it declared illegal any type of sports betting sites operating in the country and, in line with this, ordered to block access to more than 20 iGaming platforms through the telecommunications company Mundo Pacifico.

The ruling, published on Tuesday night, corresponds to an appeal for protection filed in 2022 by state-owned lottery company Polla Chilena de Beneficencia against Mundo Pacífico, which was requested not to promote the betting sites and their access for Chilean users.

This appeal, which was rejected in the first instance by the Court of Appeals of Concepción, was accepted by the highest court of the country, which has ordered the blocking of the online betting sites in Mundo Pacífico's services. 

"The plaintiff [Mundo Pacífico] cannot transmit or promote games of chance, unless it accredits legal authorization and from the administrative authority, and therefore it must immediately block all the websites requested by the plaintiff in these proceedings", reads the court decision.

The ruling states that the activities of the betting sites are developed "illegally and without control", the reason for which "the action [of protection filed by the Polla de Beneficencia] must be accepted in the terms that will be indicated."

"As can be inferred from the aforementioned rules, online sports betting, such as the activity denounced by the appellant, is prohibited in our legal system, and debts incurred in such games of chance have an unlawful purpose, and those who enable such activity, as well as those who participate in it, are criminally punished", the ruling adds.

The online bookmakers affected by the Supreme Court's decision are Betsson, Betwarrior, Betano, Coolbet, Juegaenlinea.com, Latamwin, Estelarbet, KTO, Bet365, Micasino.com, Rojabet, Betway, Betcris, Betfair, Rivalo, Sportingbet, Bwin, Marathonbet, 1XBET, BetPlay, BetSala, Bodog and Rushbet.

The ruling is welcomed

The president of the board of directors of Polla Chilena, Macarena Carvallo, valued the ruling of the Supreme Court and reiterated that only this state-owned company is legally authorized to operate sports betting.

"As we have always sustained, gambling is forbidden in our country, except for those legal entities that the law allows and gives a license to develop it. And regarding sports betting, this is given only and exclusively to Polla Chilena de Beneficencia and this ruling reaffirms that", Carvallo added.