Chile Puts DNS Blocking System in Place for Gambling Sites

Chile has set out how unauthorized gambling domains can be blocked at ISP level. A new court procedure gives the SCJ responsibility for checking sites before telecom companies receive an order to restrict access.

Internet providers will not have to act directly on domain lists submitted by parties to the case. That was one of the main technical problems left after Chile’s Supreme Court ordered the blocking of unauthorized betting and casino websites last year.

The Santiago Court of Appeals has now approved a five-step process built around DNS blocking.

Regulator Sits Between Reports and ISPs

Lotería de Concepción and Polla Chilena de Beneficencia can report websites they believe fall under the earlier court order. Reports may cover the main domain as well as subdomains, redirects and new addresses created after a block.

Those names first go to the Superintendency of Casinos, the SCJ. The regulator must determine whether each reported site corresponds to an online gambling or betting platform covered by the ruling. Only validated domains move further through the system.

SUBTEL, Chile’s telecommunications authority, then receives the approved list and passes the blocking instructions to internet providers. It will also set the deadline for applying each restriction.

Telecom companies must confirm implementation to the Santiago Court of Appeals. There is no common deadline for the blocks. SUBTEL will set implementation periods after receiving the domains cleared by the SCJ.

Dispute Started With Telecom Providers

The DNS procedure grew out of a case brought by Lotería de Concepción against Claro, Entel, GTD, Telefónica, WOM and VTR. Polla Chilena de Beneficencia later joined the proceedings.

In September 2025, the Supreme Court ordered providers to restrict access to unauthorized gambling sites. The problem was what happened after that order.

Telecom companies objected to simply receiving lists of websites and blocking them. One concern was the possibility of taking down unrelated pages along with the targeted gambling domains. The SCJ review is meant to separate that decision from the technical work carried out by ISPs.

The same process can be used again when a site changes its address. Mirrors, redirects and new domains can be reported as they appear.

aPAL Pushes Back

Polla Chilena wants the system running soon. Its president, Felipe Dalgalarrando, has said the company can provide authorities with information on domains linked to the case.

aPAL disagrees with the way the court has handled it. The betting industry association says the ruling reaches beyond the original dispute. It has also challenged the role given to the SCJ and raised questions over net neutrality, cybersecurity and data protection.

For aPAL, those points belong in the legislation now before Chile’s Senate rather than in a blocking procedure created through the courts.

DNS Blocks Can Follow New Domains

For now, Chile has a route for dealing with sites that reappear under another address. A reported domain is checked by the SCJ, passed to SUBTEL and then sent to the relevant providers.

That solves the technical question left open after the 2025 ruling. It does not decide what Chile’s future regulated betting market will look like. That argument is still playing out in Congress.