The Ministry of Justice of the Government of Gabriel Boric has put the Chilean soccer administration in check, since it has ordered an end to the million-dollar contracts it maintains with a dozen online betting houses of foreign origin. The authorities gave 30 days to the National Association of Professional Football (ANFP) to cut all ties with these companies, since not doing so risks losing the legal personality that allows it to function in the South American country.
The investigation into the Chilean soccer organizing entity had been announced a few months ago by the Minister of Justice, Luis Cordero, through the requests of deputies from the ruling party. Its results have been released this Friday by the undersecretary of the same portfolio, Jaime Gajardo, who has confirmed that the commercial relationship between the ANFP and the betting companies is illegal.
“Online betting houses, according to our legal system and what the Superintendency of Games has determined, is that they act outside the law. We have given instructions to the ANFP that it has a period of 30 days to cancel the contracts with the online betting houses,” said Gajardo, who explained that “these contracts with third parties who place bets with domicile abroad They are not allowed in national legislation, so there is nothing else to do than leave them without effect”.
The undersecretary of Justice has also warned the leaders of Chilean soccer that if the ANFP does not cut its ties with foreign betting companies, it could instruct the loss of its legal personality, which in practice would prevent its operation. Regarding the more than 30 professional soccer clubs, which also receive sponsorship from these companies, the Executive requested information to find out if there are non-profit institutions involved, an issue that is complex to elucidate since most of the Chilean teams are sports limited companies.
In March of this year, the Internal Revenue Service (SII) stated that the bookmakers on-line linked to soccer, and which have their headquarters abroad, correspond to an activity that is carried out “outside the legal framework”. This was reinforced with the pronouncement of the Superintendency of Gaming Casinos, which specified that the only internet betting services authorized to operate in Chile are those provided by Lottery of Concepción, Polla Chilena de Beneficencia and Teletrak. [de apuestas hípicas].
Last Wednesday, the national prosecutor Ángel Valencia declared in an interview with the CNN Chile news network that the president of Chilean soccer, Pablo Milad, could be summoned to testify to address the ANFP’s links with the betting industry in two investigations initiated by the Public Ministry. “One is related to the possible commission of crimes by the existence of electronic betting houses, on the Internet, because, according to the complainants, they would eventually fail to comply with our rules that regulate casinos”
In recent years, Chilean soccer has been sponsored by several bookmakers such as Betano, Betsson, Coolbet, Estelarbet and LatamWin, all of them domiciled abroad. Currently, almost all the teams in the Primera División (first category) and Primera B (second category) have a betting brand on-line on their jerseys, including Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile, two of the biggest and most popular clubs in the country. The influence of these companies in the activity grew after the ANFP agreed to Betsson sponsoring the national tournament with its name —currently called betsson championship—, in an operation that reached 2.5 million dollars.
In 2022, the Chamber of Deputies voted in favor of a bill that prohibits the advertising of bookmakers in all Chilean soccer activities. Deputy Jaime Mulet, a member of the ruling left-wing Social Green Regional Federation (FRVS) party, has said that the proposal —which is still being processed— seeks to increase the transparency of sports organizations and prevent the promotion of compulsive gambling, especially in minors.
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