Chile to Allow Online Casinos to Offset COVID-19 Losses
To address the economic hardship brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, Chile has opted to permit casinos to function on the internet.
This choice comes in the wake of the administration’s declaration that gambling establishments in the nation, all of which were closed in the middle of March, might not be able to resume operations until September or October of this year. This has been especially challenging for casinos in Chile as many are controlled and run by local governments, signifying they constitute a substantial amount of their earnings. Some municipalities even depend on casinos for more than 50% of their budget.
To assist these struggling casinos, Chilean Treasury Undersecretary Francisco Moreno stated that the administration will present legislation to Congress that would instinctively prolong the operating permits of 14 casinos scheduled to lapse this year. This postponement would also enable the casinos to initiate internet gaming sites, though these sites would be under stringent location limitations to guarantee they are solely reachable from within Chile.
In return for the permit prolongation and the capacity to operate digitally, the government is requesting casinos to consent to a provisional 5% rise in their overall gaming revenue levy, raising it to 25% for a duration of 12 months.
This action has been met with approval by the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego, Chile’s casino regulatory body, which has openly supported permitting casinos to operate on the internet as long as the government establishes an “effective tax and regulatory structure.”
