Chile seeks to ban sportsbooks from advertising at sports events and clubs in the country

Chile's deputy of the Coquimbo Region, Marco Antonio Sulantay, announced that in the next few days he will submit to Congress a bill that would prohibit the advertising from betting companies at sports events and clubs in Chile.

The legislator, who is also a member of the Chilean Sports Commission, explained that although betting companies "are legally forbidden to operate in our country, in reality, they operate in tax havens, with unknown whereabouts, generating millions of dollars in profits, but without paying any kind of tax on those profits", he said.

"In recent years we have seen how dozens, if not hundreds of these platforms have taken over sporting events through static advertising, and sponsoring particularly soccer teams, what could turn into a serious problem, such as minors' participation in sports betting", added Sulantay.

Without going any further, the parliamentarian assured that online betting companies "could also lead to gambling addiction, since users can generate profits through small bets, but in a single bet lose everything and in the desperation to recover their money, bet larger amounts again".

Sulantay stated that "since they operate in tax havens, it is not known who the owners of these betting houses are, so one could infer that there is asset laundering. Therefore, it is necessary to prohibit them from sponsoring sports events and clubs, otherwise, the Ministry of Finance should move forward decisively to regulate their operation in Chile, as it was done with streaming platforms, so that they may pay the corresponding taxes", he concluded.