Zona de Azar Chile – Chile: Broadcasting Gambling House Advertisements from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Violates Law

Chile.- July 15, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com The Court of Appeals of Santiago confirmed a decision by the National Television Council (CNTV) of Chile, which ruled that broadcasting advertisements from online betting houses during child protection hours violates Law 18,838.

This law establishes that the protection hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and the judges considered that gambling content is inappropriate because it can harm the development of minors.

Furthermore, by confirming the CNTV resolution, the Court accepted two important points: first, that the activity of online betting houses is illegal and, second, that showing advertisements for these activities “goes against the spiritual and intellectual formation of childhood and youth.”

The Court of Santiago followed the arguments of the CNTV, supported by the Supreme Court, and concluded that online sports betting is gambling. Therefore, he stated that “promoting these games to those under 18 years of age is illegal,” contradicting the position of Chilevisión (CHV).

Consequently, the Court rejected an appeal by Chilevisión against a CNTV resolution of April 2, 2024, which imposed a fine of 20 UTM (CLP 1,319,340) for broadcasting nine online betting advertisements on October 12, 2023 during the protection schedule.

Likewise, the Court maintained a consistent position in eight similar cases presented by CHV, DirecTV and Entel against CNTV resolutions, determining that “the lack of regulation of the activity of online betting houses does not prevent the CNTV from analyzing ex post their advertising in television”.

Finally, the judges pointed out that the promotion of an activity considered illegal should be treated as an infraction, since it broadcasts content that can negatively impact the development of children and adolescents.

Edited: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com