Chile puts blackout orders on hold as President Kast launches gaming negotiations

(AsiaGameHub) –   Chile’s Supreme Court is confronting additional legal repercussions regarding the implementation of restrictions on online gambling operators.

Last week, SubTel, the national telecommunications regulator, announced it would cease efforts to block access to unlicensed gambling websites.

The agency conceded failure, explaining it could no longer rationalize allocating resources to maintain court-ordered IP blocks obtained for the benefit of Polla Chilena and other municipal gambling entities.

In 2023, Polla Chilena secured a federal appeal ruling aimed at imposing restrictions on online gambling operators, as the Chilean government continued to struggle to conclude a long-awaited online gambling regulatory framework.

This appeal was contested by Chilean media stakeholders and eventually reached the Supreme Court. The high court ruled that “online gambling in Chile is illegal unless expressly authorised by law” and instructed telecommunications providers to block offshore betting sites—a mandate SubTel was tasked with enforcing.

Unable to continue this duty, SubTel pointed out that “these operators simply shifted to new domains once blocks were imposed,” revealing that the court order focused on website addresses instead of the underlying betting platforms.

This position was communicated to the Supreme Court by Romina Garrido, Chile’s Undersecretary of Telecommunications, who stated the agency could no longer uphold the restrictions secured by municipal operators like Polla Chilena.

Garrido cautioned that the enforcement actions were draining significant resources from an already overburdened agency, which is also entangled in the protracted stalemate over Chile’s online gambling regulation.

Addressing the Constitution Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Garrido emphasized that SubTel was never an official party to the legal case and thus lacked direct authority to execute the ruling, beyond facilitating technical compliance with telecom firms.

Nevertheless, Supreme Court justices inquired if any of the “blocking campaigns had produced meaningful results.”

The breakdown of this enforcement approach has deepened political rifts concerning Chile’s gambling future. Some deputies insisted the Supreme Court’s ruling must be upheld despite practical obstacles, while others contended the focus should return to restarting Chile’s journey toward establishing a regulated online gambling market, similar to progress seen in other South American nations like Brazil and Colombia.

Jaime Mulet, President of the Finance Committee, advocated for ongoing oversight of the issue, asserting that judicial rulings “must be complied with,” even as the practical enforcement difficulties grow more apparent.

Conversely, Evópoli deputy Jorge Guzmán contended that Chile’s main objective should be progressing regulation through Congress, instead of compelling SubTel to wage a technologically futile battle against offshore domains.

Kast commences austerity negotiations

Focus now shifts to the new cabinet of President José Antonio Kast, who took office in March 2026.

Kast leads the “Republican Alliance,” the conservative coalition in the National Congress. However, reports indicate the four-party coalition bloc is deeply divided on the regulatory approach for online gambling in Chile.

The disagreements revolve around the licensing framework of Chile’s online gambling bill. Some ministers aim to protect online privileges for municipal operators while restricting the number of licenses available to international firms.

There are growing concerns that Kast may leverage the finalization of Chile’s online gambling framework as a negotiating tool to advance the severe spending cuts that were a cornerstone of his 2025 election platform.

Aligning with other conservative South American administrations, Kast has pledged to review unnecessary agencies and policies considered impediments to economic growth. The President seeks to implement a 3% spending reduction across all Chilean public departments.

In his first year, Kast targets cost savings of $8 billion, with projections suggesting annual savings could reach $21 billion by the next election.

For Chile’s Supreme Court, SubTel’s admission serves as a sobering reality check. While the judiciary successfully declared offshore online gambling illegal, the practical capacity to enforce that decision in a borderless digital environment now seems increasingly constrained.