Servicio de Impuestos Internos of Chile has published Exempt Resolution No. 69, It establishes the system for offshore gambling operators that serve Chilean users to meet local VAT duties. The scope of the resolution includes foreign entities with no domicile or residence in Chile. It applies to online betting, games of chance, casino services, and analogous or connected services.
SII Separates Tax Collection From Legal Status
Legal separation is the crux of this matter. According to SII, it has no jurisdiction in the matter of determining whether the activity is lawful in itself. It only determines whether taxes must be levied under Chilean VAT laws. This is significant, as online gambling in Chile still lacks an enacted licensing framework.
Before, these operators were not covered by the simplified Digital VAT regime because competent authorities had treated the activity as illicit. Resolution No. 69 may have altered the tax route, but not the gambling permit.
Operators Face Digital VAT Rules
Foreign platforms would be able to use the Digital VAT regime to register, declare, and pay the tax. The procedure is bound to the requirements established for non-resident providers of taxable digital services.
According to the SII, VAT has to be paid on the full amount of money obtained as payment for the services provided. The formulation is quite general and relates to any kind of compensation.
Operators may be excluded from the system if, after registration, they fail to file the Digital VAT form, declare VAT, or pay the tax due. Also, the third parties have the right to report tax noncompliance via the SII website.
The system gives operators an additional channel for compliance and a clearer audit trail. Once inside the system, they must report taxable activity instead of remaining fully outside Chile’s tax controls.
Retroactive Payments Add Pressure
The most sensitive part is the retroactive component. The platforms that supplied their services during the last 36 tax periods will need to pay the VAT on those periods using the Digital VAT form.
This measure may have implications for the brands that have continued to accept Chilean users while the country’s online gambling framework remained unresolved. It also places an additional cost burden before the regulation issue gets sorted out.
This measure comes while Chile is still debating the creation of a formal online betting framework. The bill includes licensing, tax, compliance, enforcement, payment blocking, advertising restrictions, and responsible gambling measures. SII’s decision is no replacement for that discussion. It adds a tax enforcement layer in advance.
Legal Debate Is Likely to Continue
The resolution might lead to a conflict between tax policy and gambling policy. Land-based licensed casinos may consider the resolution to be ambiguous. At the same time, offshore operators may see registration as a way to reduce tax exposure, without gaining legal certainty.
Chile is not opening a regulated online gambling market through the tax office. It is closing a tax gap around activity that already reaches local consumers. That makes Resolution 69 a fiscal move first, and a regulatory pressure point second.
