Legislation
Colombia – Agreement reached to prevent match-fixing
By Lewis - 14 May 2018
Representatives of the Major Division of Colombian Professional Football (DIMAYOR), the Colombian Association of Gaming Operators (Asojuegos), online sports betting operators and gaming regulator Coljuegos have met in order to agree on a stronger commitment to prevent match fixing and strive for the legality and transparency of online sports betting.
The initiative, supported by the Ministry of Finance and the Spanish Football League, was enacted at the El Campin stadium – Bogotá’s largest stadium and was initiated in order to recognise the relationship between sporting events and gambling particularly when it comes to online betting.
Representatives of the different groups committed themselves to work for the integrity of sports and sports betting in Colombia when it came to football, and if possible, raise awareness of the reliability of sports betting in local media. Present at the ceremony were the President of Coljuegos Juan B Pérez, DIMAYOR President Jorge Perdomo, Alfredo Lorenzo the Integrity and Security Director of La Liga, (Spanish Professional Football League), the President of Asojuegos, Juan Andrés Carreño and representatives of those companies licensed to operate sports betting online in Colombia.
DIMAYOR announced that it had made several commitments to ensure transparency in the industry. From now on, it will promote actions that identify and counteract behaviours that may affect the integrity of all those matches and competitions that it organises, and conduct training conferences and promote awareness campaigns for all industry players, shareholders, leaders and players, in order to promote fair play and the integrity of Colombian professional football. It also committed itself to guarantee by all possible means match fixing. The event also saw the launch of the first international conference on the integrity and transparency of sports betting in Colombia, the Betting Sports Marketing Conference.
Online gaming laws in Colombia began to be tightened after legislation was passed in 2016. According to new regulations, operators granted a licence must adhere to a number of strict obligations and meet the technical requirements as per the terms granted to it by the state. Meanwhile, Coljuegos with the help of the National Police has continued to manage the blocking of unauthorised web pages.
In March, Sportium Apuestas Colombia joined the eight online operators already offering their services in Colombia under the domain name www.sportium.com.co. Sportium is a joint venture between Ladbrokes Coral Group plc and CIRSA and is already present in Mexico as well. It is already one of the leading multi-channel betting operators in Spain and the official betting partner of La Liga.
