The Supreme Court of Justice of Chili declared illegal more than 20 sites of online bettingamong them one of the sponsors of local soccer, according to a court ruling released late Tuesday.
The sentence was handed down following a lawsuit by the company Polla Chilena de Beneficiencia, the only one authorized in the country to place bets, against the internet provider Mundo Pacífico, accused of promoting these platforms.
The court order does not yet have a deadline to be fulfilled but it sets a precedent in Chile, since it establishes that except for Polla Chilena, the other betting houses operate at the same time. “margin” of the law.
The Supreme Court ordered that Mundo Pacífico “it cannot transmit or promote games of chance, unless it demonstrates legal authorization and authorization from the administrative authority, and must therefore immediately block all requested websites.”
Among them are sites such as the British Betway, the Greek Betano or the Swedish Betsson.
The blocking of this last company, based in Malta, implies a setback for the interests of Chilean football.
The National Association of Professional Football (ANFP) closed a contract with this betting house earlier this year, after which the first and second division tournaments adopted the name of that company.
According to the newspaper La Tercera, thanks to this agreement, the ANFP receives US$2.5 million per year.
The Chilean government ordered the ANFP at the beginning of September to end these million-dollar contracts within 30 days, considering them “outside the law”.
After the notification, the ANFP reported in a statement that it would appeal this order.
Most of the 16 Chilean first division soccer teams also have these platforms based abroad as sponsors.
The Ministry of Justice asked the ANFP for the list of clubs that have agreements with these betting houses, to also demand their termination.
In August 2022, the ministry began investigating Chilean football contracts with online betting houses at the request of seven deputies, who alleged “possible legal violations committed by the ANFP”.
In other countries in the region, such as Brazil and Mexico, first division soccer clubs have agreements with these online betting platforms.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
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