(short): Impact of mobile technology (Chile)

Impact of mobile technology (Chile)

1) "Mobile Country": What Infrastructure Says

Connections. At the beginning of 2025, Chile had 30.7 million active mobile connections - 155% of the population (many SIMs per user).

Access to the network - via the phone. In 2025, 97.3% of users access the Internet via the mobile network; total Internet audience - 18.6 million (94.1% of the population). This confirms "mobile-first" as the norm of behavior.

5G as a standard for cities. According to Opensignal (February 2025), WOM leads in 5G availability (38.6%), and operators are actively competing for 5G experience.

Operators market. In the 1st half of 2025, Claro had over 1 million 5G lines (≈13,3% of the 5G market), competition with Entel/Movistar/WOM is growing.

Hardware from users. For 2024-2025 Samsung and Apple lead; this is important for supporting advanced mobile SDKs and live game graphics.

What this means for iGaming: the application/mobile web version is the main "front." 5G improves video streaming (live casinos, match broadcasts), reduces delays for live betting, and simplifies KYC (biometrics/document scan on device).

2) Payment mobility: wallets and "real-time"

Checkout ecosystem. Chilean acquiring and the payment bus are historically tied to Transbank (cards, Webpay/Onepay), but digital wallets and instant transfers are growing rapidly; this changes UX "deposit-withdrawal" in mobile applications.

Top Methods 2025. Debit/credit cards, bank transfers and mobile wallets are among the most used ways to pay for online purchases.

Mobile-commerce and wallets - the key driver of e-commerce 2024/25; the share of "wallets" at the checkout is growing, which facilitates the speed of deposits and micro-payments.

Conclusion for the operator: offer a multi-format stack (cards + wallets + instant transfers), one-tap-repeat payments and instant partial cashouts in the application.

3) Products and UX "mobile-first" patterns

Live betting and micro-markets (exact minutes, fouls, corners) with push notifications and low latency are the main differentiation field for 5G.

Live casino and 1080p table streaming on smartphone: HLS/DASH-†, low-latency modes.

In-app KYC: document scan, selfie-Liveness, autocomplete; storing tokens on the device, authentication by biometrics.

Mobile analytics: in-app events, contextual limits/pauses in responsible play directly in UI.

"Super-check-out": saved cards and wallets, quick deposit replay, real-time output tracking.

4) Geography and coverage: impact on regional clusters

Large agglomerations (Santiago, Valparaiso/Viña del Mar) - high 5G futprint: priority for live content, sports streams and MICE activations in resort casinos.

Southern regions and tourist areas benefit from mobile access in the "low" season: mobile packages (SPA + casino + stream), offline events with digital tickets/QR.

Offline casinos can introduce a mobile layer in-venue: a scan of tickets, loyalty programs, "quiet" fluffs with offers outside the gaming hall.

5) Regulatory Context for Mobile (2025)

Judicial blockages. September 30, 2025 Chile's Supreme Court ordered telecom providers to block unlicensed betting and online gaming sites; industry associations supported the course to clean up the market. This affects mobile traffic, app stores and payment routes.

The ongoing bill on the legalization of the online market (after approval in general form by the Senate in August 2025) provides for a formal regime of licenses and increased consumer protection - therefore, "white" mobile applications will become the main channel after the launch of licensing.

6) Business effects for operators and affiliates

LTV growth due to the best mobile UX (smooth stream, fast deposit, personal offers).

Reducing CAC through the organics of mobile stops and ASO, but with strict adherence to advertising rules and age restrictions.

Seasonality/localization: mobile offers for the sports calendar and local events (Viña del Mar festivals, football derbies) with geo-targeting.

Compliance cost will increase: mandatory KYC/AML, control of sources of funds, verification of age, logging of sessions.

7) Practical steps (roadmap for October 12, 2025)

1. Make the application "easy": <25-30 MB, offline cache of assets, graceful degradation for 4G.

2. Video stack under live: low-latency HLS, ABR profiles for 720p/1080p, prediction of network anchors (transition from Wi-Fi to 5G).

3. Payments: wallets + cards + instant transfers; one-tap repeat; transparent output status.

4. In-app compliance: fast KYC, limits, timeouts, self-exclusion.

5. ASO and marketing "in white": work with curtains, 18 + warnings, flexible creatives without "aggressive" tonality; accounting of interlocks for unlicensed sites.

6. Data-ops: mobile event analytics, cohort metrics, A/B tests on the deposit path, responsible game triggers.

8) What it changes for players

Faster and more convenient: deposits/outputs through wallets and cards, biometric entry, stable stream of games on 5G.

Safer with licenses: verification, limits, clear rules of disputes and payments; while access to unlicensed mobile sites and applications is limited to locks.

Mobile technology has turned Chile's iGaming into a "screen in your pocket": ultra-high communication penetration, 5G sprint and explosive growth of digital wallets form the mobile-first standard. The next step is pure white mobile contour: licensed apps, strict KYC/AML, responsible marketing and seamless payments. The technical teams that are already designing the product for the real Chilean mobile landscape today will be the first in the LTV race tomorrow.

• DataReport: 30.7 million mobile connections (155%) at start of 2025
• BYD/Chile Digital Landscape 2025: 94.1% online, 97.3% via mobile.
• Opensignal (February 2025): WOM is the leader in 5G availability (38.6%).
• BNamericas (September 2025): over 1 million 5G lines from Claro (≈13,3%).
• PaymentsCMI/Rebill: e-commerce trends 2024/25, popular payment methods (cards, transfers, wallets).
• Judicial blocking of unlicensed iGaming sites (October 2025): Supreme Court decisions and industry materials.