Operator News
Colombia – Another record year for Colombian gaming sector
By Phil - 11 February 2019
Colombian gaming regulator Coljuegos has reported a record collection of revenue from gaming licensing and exploitation rights during 2018. Operator rights for gambling reached $574bn (US $ 184,499,343m), 9.8 per cent more than in 2017, as reported the president of the organization Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo.
Increasing revenue was derived mostly from casinos and bingo halls which made up $345bn, equivalent to 60.2 per cent of the total.
Revenue generated by online gaming for the board stood at $37,912,328,863m in 2018. The number of licences increased from six licences in 2017 to a total of 16 in 2018. The online industry now has a total of 1.5 million active players.
Sales for Lottery game Superastro also helped boost revenue reporting record sales in 2018 increasing by 20 per cent and contributing $ 78,982,994,250m for the Colombian national health service. The accumulated growth over the last three years, when it came to operating rights and interest made from income as well as other fees reported a 51.2 per cent growth going from $379,993,881,461 at the end 2015 to $ 574,660,057,092 in 2018. Resources transferred for the health of Colombians increased from $ 553,426,055,972 in 2018 from $528,898m in 2017.
In December Hidalgo reported that one of the reasons behind increased revenue for the state was the clampdown on illegal gambling. In 2018 the board seized 2,813 illegal slot machines as well as a large haul of other illegal gambling equipment. It also blocked, with the help of other government bodies, as many as 2,616 unauthorised online betting sites and signed a number of pacts with regional governments in order to clampdown further and coordinate efforts on a national level. 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 strengthening the sector further.
