Gambling board investigates betting in Colombian professional football through illegal sites
Coljuegos has launched a preliminary investigation to request the blocking of websites that are operating from countries such as China and Russia, and through which bets related to Colombian professional football are being placed without paying the respective exploitation rights.
“We are investigating the origin of several web portals from which sports bets are being placed based on the results of professional football. We have acted quickly to protect both legal operators and bettors,” said Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Coljuegos.
According to the official, the investigation is based on complaints made by football league executives through the media, which indicate that part of the bets are being placed through websites that operate illegally from the Asian continent.
“From Coljuegos, we have held working meetings with Dimayor (the organization responsible for organizing and operating professional football leagues and tournaments in Colombia) to work together to identify illegal sports bets. Our purpose is to guarantee transparency and strengthen control over this type of games,” Hincapié said.
He added: “Through our Artificial Intelligence Centre, we have already identified around 7,631 illegal betting websites that operate from different countries and that offer bets in Colombia. We have already issued requests for blocking of all these portals to the Ministry of ICT (The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology).”
Likewise, the president of Coljuegos invited the directors of Colombian football to make the respective complaints to the entity, in order to advance the corresponding investigations to administratively sanction and link to a criminal process those who operate bets illegally.
“We invite bettors to play only on the 16 portals authorized by Coljuegos. In this way, they not only protect their money and guarantee the payment of prizes, but also contribute to the health of Colombians,” concluded Hincapié.
In October as part of its technological modernization process, Coljuegos inaugurated its Artificial Intelligence Centre of Coljuegos (CIAC). This tool will allow for monitoring illegal online betting activities as well as real-time oversight of the transfers made by the 3,656 authorized gaming establishments.
