Is Gambling Legal in Chile? Laws & Regulator

Is gambling legal in Chile? Half of it is. Betting in land-based casinos, on the state lotteries and on horse racing is legal and regulated by specific laws, but online casinos and sports-betting websites currently hold no valid licence of any kind in Chile. The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 and again in 2025 that unauthorised online gambling is illegal and ordered telecom companies to block the sites. As of October 2026 the bill to regulate online betting platforms (Boletín 14.838-03) is still before the Senate and is not yet law.

For Chinese citizens moving to or staying in Chile the essentials are simple: from age 18 you may enter a licensed casino with valid ID; betting online gives you no legal protection, and you may never see your winnings; and Chinese criminal law also targets anyone who organises PRC citizens to gamble abroad. Below we go through the law, the regulator, the age limit, taxes, advertising and where to get help, with figures as of October 2026.

The legal framework for gambling in Chile

The basic principle of Chilean law is that games of chance (juegos de azar) are prohibited unless a law expressly authorises them. According to a February 2026 overview by the law firm ECIJA and the Supreme Court rulings, the main legal forms today are:

Type	Legal basis / operator	Regulation and status (October 2026)
Land-based casinos (casinos de juego)	Law No. 19.995 (in force since 2005)	Legal; licensed and supervised by the SCJ
Municipal concession casinos	Municipal concessions predating Law 19.995	Legal; 3 currently, also supervised by the SCJ
State lotteries	Polla Chilena de Beneficencia, Lotería de Concepción	Legal; authorised by specific laws
Horse-race betting	Racecourses and their betting systems (e.g. Teletrak)	Legal
Online casinos and sports-betting sites	No Chilean licence exists	Illegal; courts have ordered blocking, bill still pending

Law 19.995 also states that a casino operating permit never covers online gambling. In other words, even a licensed land-based casino may not legally run an online casino.

Regulator and licensing system

Land-based casinos are overseen by the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ). The SCJ grants and renews operating permits, approves the games offered, vets operating companies, and handles player complaints and self-exclusion.

Article 16 of Law 19.995 sets hard limits on the number of casinos:

24Maximum casino permits nationwide (Law 19.995, Art. 16)

25Casinos operating in 2025 (22 licensed + 3 municipal)

20%Specific tax on casino gross revenue (Art. 59)

0.07 UTMEntry tax per visit, about CLP 5,051 (October 2026)

A maximum of 24 nationwide, with room for at least one and no more than three per region;
No casino may be authorised in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, so Santiago residents usually travel to casinos in neighbouring regions;
New casinos must be at least 70 km by road from any other casino.

Locations, opening details and entry rules for individual venues are covered in our guide to casinos in Chile.

Minimum gambling age and entry rules

Article 9 of Law 19.995 bars minors from entering or remaining in casino gaming rooms. The age of majority in Chile is 18, so the minimum gambling age is 18, for residents and foreign tourists alike. The same article also bars people who cannot show official ID, visibly intoxicated people and anyone carrying a weapon.

Chinese visitors and new residents should bring their original passport or Chilean ID card (cédula de identidad) to a casino; staff are entitled to check identity.

Online casinos and sports betting: currently not legal

This is the part most often misunderstood. Betting sites advertise everywhere in Chile, including around football, but that does not make them legal. The key milestones:

12 September 2023The Supreme Court upheld a claim by Polla Chilena, confirmed that online betting platforms operate illegally in Chile and ordered 23 sites blocked
Late September 2025The Supreme Court upheld a claim by Lotería de Concepción and ordered six telecom companies (Claro, Entel, GTD, Movistar, WOM, VTR) to block the sites immediately
September 2026The telecoms regulator Subtel ordered 42 sites (1 September) and 37 new domains (21 September) blocked
27 October 2026The government presented its amendments to Boletín 14.838-03 to the Senate Economy Committee (second constitutional stage; still to be debated)

The head of the SCJ’s legal division said in October 2025 that the ruling means online gambling is “as a general rule prohibited”, with the exception of the state lotteries authorised by law. The tax authority (SII) requires offshore platforms to pay VAT on bets placed by Chilean users, but has stated explicitly that this does not authorise them to operate in Chile.

Betting on an unlicensed site gives you no protection under Chilean law: accounts can be blocked at any time, funds are hard to recover, and under the Chilean Civil Code gambling debts may even be treated as void. This site does not explain how to use, or recommend, any online gambling platform.

Where the bill is heading (not yet passed and subject to change): a licensing regime, a player register, blocking of illegal sites and illegal payment channels, and limits on bonuses and promotions. The government’s October amendments also propose a total advertising ban and a 3% specific tax on top of VAT (a combined burden of about 22%, which some senators called too low). For the bill’s progress and the risks of online play, see the legal status of online casinos in Chile.

Gambling taxes: what casinos pay and what players pay

Casino taxes are set by Law 19.995: a 20% specific tax on gross gaming revenue (half to the municipality where the casino is located, half to the regional government), 19% VAT, and an entry tax of 0.07 UTM each time a visitor enters the gaming rooms. With the October 2026 UTM at CLP 72,151, the entry tax is about CLP 5,051, or roughly RMB 34 (Central Bank of Chile rate of 23 October 2026: RMB 1 = CLP 147.85).

Taxes paid by licensed Chilean casinos in 2025 (CLP million)

Specific tax on gross revenue84,363

VAT (IVA)81,401

Entry tax28,450

Source: SCJ data as reported by Focus Gaming News, February 2026

For players: lottery prizes from Polla Chilena and Lotería de Concepción are subject to a 15% single tax under Article 20 No. 6 of the Income Tax Law, withheld by the lottery before payment. Casino winnings are generally treated as occasional income to be dealt with in the annual return, and the SII considers that winnings from foreign websites must also be declared. Ask a Chilean accountant about your own case. If you are also a Chinese tax resident, keep Chinese individual income tax rules in mind too; see our Leaving China series.

Advertising rules

Licensed casinos and the state lotteries may advertise legally, but Chile has no dedicated law yet regulating online betting advertising, which is why unlicensed platforms can sponsor so many football clubs. In 2023 the Chamber of Deputies passed a bill banning online betting platforms from sponsoring sports organisations, and the government’s October 2026 amendments propose a total ban on online betting advertising. For readers, an advert is no proof of legality; the only test is whether Chilean law authorises the operator.

What Chinese citizens should know: PRC Criminal Law Article 303

Wherever they are, Chinese citizens remain subject to the PRC Criminal Law. Article 303 covers the crimes of gambling and of operating a gambling establishment. Criminal Law Amendment XI, in force since 1 March 2021, added that organising PRC citizens to take part in gambling outside China (组织参与国（境）外赌博), where the amounts are large or the circumstances otherwise serious, is punished in the same way as operating a gambling establishment. The provision mainly targets organisers, operators and people who recruit Chinese citizens to gamble abroad or online, including cross-border online gambling. Recruiting fellow Chinese to gamble in Chile or acting as an agent for online gambling accounts may breach both Chilean and Chinese law. This page is for information only and is not legal advice; please read our disclaimer.

Responsible gambling and where to get help

Chile runs a nationwide voluntary self-exclusion scheme (Autoexclusión voluntaria): anyone aged 18 or over can give up the right to enter all licensed and municipal casinos in the country. There are three ways to apply: online through the SCJ system with a ClaveÚnica; by downloading the form and submitting it signed before a notary or with an advanced electronic signature; or in person with ID at any casino or at the SCJ office (Morandé 360, 11th floor, Santiago).

The SCJ website has a Responsible Gambling (Juego Responsable) section and a step-by-step self-exclusion guide;
The international mutual-help fellowship Gamblers Anonymous offers support in Spanish;
If you need help in Chinese, start with a local Chinese community association or the Chinese embassy or consulate in Chile for referrals.

Looking for other ways to unwind? Try Chile’s top landmarks and sports in Chile. Neighbouring countries compared: gambling laws in Argentina, gambling laws in Peru and gambling laws in Brazil. For everything else about life in Chile, see our guide to moving to Chile.

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