Chile's Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the 2027 Budget Bill on 10 November that would prevent the country's tax authority from implementing or administering tax collection systems for unauthorised online betting platforms. The measure passed with 133 votes in favour, two against and one abstention.
The amendment followed an SII decision in June to enable foreign betting platforms to register and pay digital VAT under Resolution 69. Chile's standard VAT rate is 19%. Platforms that had operated during the previous 36 tax periods were required to settle outstanding VAT.
Deputies including UDI's Eduardo Cretton and Marco Antonio Sulantay argued that the state should not simultaneously combat illegal activity through one agency while collecting revenue from it through another. Chile's Supreme Court ruled in 2025 that online betting platforms operating in the country were illegal. SII director Jorge Trujillo countered that tax obligations arose from actual transactions regardless of a platform's legal status, and that forgoing collection would create an unjustified tax advantage for unauthorised providers.
Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz entered a constitutional reservation over the amendment, opening the possibility of legal challenge. The measure must now pass the Senate as part of the budget bill and remains subject to the legislative process.
