Legislation

Colombia – Coljuegos implements programme to legalise illegal slot machines

By James - 5 March 2024

Coljuegos, Colombia’s gambling regulator has issued a resolution to legalize illegal slot machines owned by small businesses.

According to Coljuegos president, Marco Emilio Hincapié, the strategy aims to promote legal betting and formalize around 100,000 slot machines operating in Colombia which do not currently meet legal requirements. In the resolution slot machines are referred to by their Spanish acronym METs (máquinas electrónicas tragamonedas). The ‘Mets for Peace’ program is inspired by President Gustavo Petro’s ‘Total Peace’ concept. New rules on illegal slots are aimed at reducing the flow of capital from criminal activities such as extortion and drug trafficking associated with illegal gambling.

“In addition to operations to seize and subsequently destroy machines, we are telling people that, in accordance with President Gustavo Petro’s ‘Total Peace’ program, we should formalize electronic slot machines that may currently be operating without authorization,” said Hincapié.

‘Total Peace’ is a concept created by the government of Gustavo Petro to turn the search for peace into a state policy. This includes negotiating peace with illegal armed groups, but also putting the community at the centre of these negotiations.

Hincapié added: “We have regulated ‘Peace METs’ so that all individuals with machines can associate, with a minimum of 80 machines, to legalize operation, protect their interests, and contribute resources to health.”

Likewise, the resolution establishes that each commercial establishment may operate a minimum of one electronic slot machine, while the maximum will be established according to the population census of the municipality where they operate.

Those municipalities with more than 50,001 inhabitants may have a maximum of four machines per location. Municipalities with populations from 25,000 to 50,000 inhabitants will be permitted to have a maximum of three machines per location. Meanwhile those municipalities with less than 25,000 inhabitants may have a maximum of two machines per location.

Owners of slots that continue to operate without authorization could incur fines amounting to 80 legal monthly minimum wages for each machine. Additionally, this activity constitutes a crime under Article 312 of the Penal Code.

This initiative has a national scope, and its main objective is for those who already operate these games to start doing so within a legal framework to provide safer gaming for users and reduce the loss of revenue to the state treasury through tax collection. The impact of illegal gambling is especially important in Colombia as revenue from gambling goes directly to the Colombian healthcare system.