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Chile just picked up a new international ally in response to its long-running online gambling debate.
The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) says it has signed a one-year Cooperation Agreement with aPAL, Chile’s Agrupación de Plataformas de Apuesta en Línea, to share regulatory experience and support Chile’s push toward a licensed online market.
BGC describes this agreement as a timed and deliberate partnership. Online gambling in Chile isn’t formally regulated today, even though the country already has a land-based casino sector, horseracing, and a lottery duopoly. A draft bill has been discussed for years, and BGC says Chile’s political landscape now looks more favorable to move legislation forward, potentially enabling licensing as early as 2027.
Santiago moves closer to online betting rules
Online wagering is happening at scale, but there’s no dedicated licensing system that gives players the standard protections seen in regulated markets. Chile has a mature land-based casino sector, yet online betting has operated in a grey zone for years, bouncing between court fights, payment disruptions and competing political proposals over how, or whether, to legalise it.
That uncertainty has also been spilling into enforcement. In 2025, Chile’s Supreme Court ordered access blocks against online betting sites operating without authorisation, highlighting how contested the space has become.
Under the new agreement, the BGC and aPAL say they will work together for an initial one-year period, sharing evidence and lessons from regulated markets and engaging with policymakers as Chile’s bill inches forward.
BGC represents much of the UK’s regulated sector, while aPAL was formed in 2022 by international operators active in Chile who want a clear legal route to market.
Chile online gambling market now
Chile’s online gambling bill has been circulating for years, and the current legislative push is to create a regulated market with licensing, tax and consumer protection requirements.
One major proposal, filed as Boletín 14838-03, aims to regulate online betting and casino-style games, with oversight powers and sanctions, and has been part of the ongoing legislative process as the debate shifted from “ban it” to “how do we control it.”
Even among supporters, the political problem has been sequencing. Some lawmakers want tough enforcement first to show the state is serious. Others argue enforcement only becomes credible once there is a legal alternative and a regulator with clear authority, because blanket crackdowns tend to become an endless chase across new domains and payment routes.
Carlos Baeza, a Chilean lawyer and aPAL representative, put the problem in plain terms:
“Chile has a real opportunity to introduce a modern, robust regulatory framework for online gambling that protects consumers, tackles illegal activity and delivers meaningful public benefits. At present, online gambling operates entirely outside any regulatory oversight, leaving players without safeguards and the state without visibility or control.”
He added that working with the BGC is about importing lessons from mature markets so Chilean lawmakers are not designing the system in the dark.
This matters because it shows how the Chile conversation is shifting
The most serious voices in the room are no longer arguing about whether online betting exists. They’re arguing about who gets to operate it, under what conditions, and what tools the state needs to shut out unlicensed competition.
If Chile does move to licensing, the early shape of the market is already visible in the language both groups are using: consumer safeguards, tighter control of illegal operators, and a regulated model that’s meant to be sustainable rather than symbolic.
Several iGaming industry leaders think Chile is still a “watch this space” jurisdiction, but this agreement may be another sign that the country is reaching for a real regulatory decision, not just another year of debate.
Source: Betting and Gaming Council
