[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1 link=same] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=2]

Skip to Content

Supplier News

Colombia – Colombian Gaming Board paves way for online market

By - 13 December 2016

The Head of Coljuegos Juan Pérez Hidalgo has revealed that Colombians spend on average US$74 each on gaming per year. Mr Hidalgo said that spending on gaming could increase to as much as US$226 per person per year by the year 2025.

Mr. Hidalgo said that in order to achieve this much of the negative connotations often associated with gaming would have to be eroded first. To that end the board needed to promote gaming as a form of entertainment and recreation. Key to reversing the negative image of gaming was tackling illegal gaming head on. Mr Hidalgo said that in October the board had confiscated 3,047 illegal slot machines and that the board was working closely with the Ministry of Defence and the National Police in order to create strategies whereby they could work more closely together in the future when it came to tacking illegal gaming.

In addition the board has worked hard to speed up bureaucratic procedures which had been reduced from 52 to 33 days over the last seven months. A more efficient board has led to an increase of income generated by the land based gaming industry which generated $222,232m pesos between January and October this year – an 18 per cent increase compared to 2015.

Revenues for Baloto, he said, had risen to $109,709m in the first ten months of this year – 55 per cent more than in the same period last year when it stood at $70,936m. Other lotteries will see a major overhaul in the coming months with the announcement that Coljuegos and the National Gaming Advisory Board (Consejo Nacional de Juegos de Suerte y Azar de Colombia) have been working together to create a proposal aimed at updating lotteries nationwide.
Last week Mr Hidalgo also revealed that new online gaming legislation is aimed primarily at providing better player protection measures. “We want Colombian players to be sure that by entering these platforms they will have a backing and that the prizes will be received,” he said. Resources generated by the newly regulated online gaming industry will go to the health sector. In addition foreign companies will be allowed to offer their services to locals. “We want to invite all companies to apply for the license in order to further develop this entertainment and recreation sectors,” he said.

According to Mr Hidalgo the new online gaming bill will ensure that operators “must process a licence, meet certain requirements, certify the systems they will use and pay an initial amount in order to operate the (online) games.” Players will be able to find a list of authorised operators via the Coljuegos web page, and online gaming platforms will be certified by specialised gaming laboratories.

Share via
Copy link