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The Court of Appeals of Santiago instructed Chile’s Subsecretariat of Telecommunications (Subtel) to present detailed explanations about how to use appropriate techniques to effectively block the activity of online gambling web pages located in Chile.
The document, dated May 22, and signed by judges Juan Cristóbal Mera and Sandra Araya, requested Subtel to submit an explanation on “the suitable technical mechanisms for blocking websites“, particularly since previous rulings have stated that “unauthorized operators cannot transmit or promote games of chance without adequate legal and administrative authorization.”
The legal dispute began in 2024 after the company Lotería de Concepción accused six internet providers, namely Claro Chile, Entel, GTD Manquehue, Telefónica Chile, WOM Chile, and VTR, of acting “in an irregular manner, inasmuch as they do not block gambling platforms that perform activities prohibited by the laws in force in Chile.”
Online Gambling Regulations at Center of Legal Dispute
In the statement presented, the company stressed that gambling games in Chile are prohibited except for the games carried out in the lotteries and in those operated by the Polla Chilena de Beneficencia.
According to Lotería de Concepción, telecommunication companies are obliged by Article 24 H of the General Telecommunications Law of Chile to block web pages with illegal content, according to previous rulings of the Supreme Court of Chile.
According to Lotería de Concepción, telecommunication companies have violated the constitutional guarantees such as equality before the law, freedom of economy, and right to private property since betting operators could carry out their activities without complying with any of the legal requirements set forth for authorized operators.
This case has become one of the most discussed legal processes involving the topic of online gambling regulation in Chile.
Subtel: Difficult to Effectively Block Websites
A month ago, Subtel admitted it was unable to successfully enforce the decision issued by the Supreme Court in January 2024 ordering the blocking of twelve betting web pages.
While the mentioned websites were quickly blocked by the telecommunications companies, officials stated that betting operators found a simple solution to bypass the restrictions by switching domain names to other pages that are currently active.
It appears the problem is related to the fact that Supreme Court rulings are based on blocking the mentioned web pages only and do not imply restriction for the gambling operators themselves or even the particular gambling platforms.
During a recent presentation of Subtel before the Constitution Commission of Chile’s Chamber of Deputies, Subtel Undersecretary Romina Garrido insisted multiple times on the fact that her institution was not directly involved in the process and therefore was not responsible for enforcing the Supreme Court order.
However, it became known that Subtel might consider developing a technical protocol aimed at improving website blocking efficiency.
Techniques Under Consideration
Specifically, one of the potential tools to be considered during the implementation of the new protocol is Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), a network security technology that helps to analyze internet traffic in real-time.
Officials also mentioned the possibility of blocking keywords such as ‘betting‘.
The discussion about the issue reveals the difficulties that states face when trying to control gambling via website blocking due to the ability of the betting operators to easily migrate between different web pages.
The developments related to internet regulation and the control over online gambling in Chile are likely to affect further discussions in other Latin American countries.
Source: SBC Noticias
