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Chile’s state lottery operator has rallied to file another lawsuit, this time against five internet providers who have not blocked online operators.
Polla Chilena de Beneficencia has said that the named providers (Entel, Telefónica, WOM, GTD Manquehue and ClaroVTR) are in violation of the September Supreme Court ruling that ordered telecommunications provider Mundo Pacífico to block access to multiple offshore operators.
Polla Chilena alleges that the online operators have changed their web addresses to circumvent being blocked, calling their actions “illicit omissive conduct”, They have also named the national telecommunications association, Chile Telcos, asking for them to pay damages for losses.
Carlos Baeza, a gaming lawyer who works with Latamwin, Coolbet, Betano and others, alleged in a statement that the lawsuit was designed to attract press attention.
“After the appearance of the article in La Segunda on Monday April 29, it is quite clear that the objective is more media-based and to try to influence senators,” he claimed.
He stressed that this latest lawsuit has, in fact, provided them with more ammunition for their own case against Polla Chilena.
“These claims by Polla against Telcos provide us with an additional argument that reaffirms our claim of unfair competition, as the existence of unfounded lawsuits is very relevant in the grounds of unfair competition.”
At the time of the Supreme Court ruling, Alfie Ulloa, the president of Chile Telcos, said that all of its members would comply with the ruling, even though the court decision only named Mundo Pacífico.
At the time, he commented: “Companies are waiting for the government to tell them which pages to block. We are working with the companies to understand how this will be done … . Rulings are not commented on, they are complied with.”
In the meantime, Chile’s online gambling bill has hit a minor roadblock in the Senate, as its urgency classification was downgraded last week. This puts the bill at second on the docket for the finance committee, where it now waits.
In the coming weeks, other matters that have a higher urgency label will be discussed before moving on to the gambling bill.
The finance committee has not yet finalised its members, but will do so in the coming days.
The committee had a slow start to the year after being embroiled in a spat over the Senate presidency.
