The gaming industry in Colombia could not stay behind the fashion of the False Positives. Last week we were shaken by the abrupt news of the arrest of officials of Coljuegos supposedly to have participated in the commission of crimes against the patrimony of the nation adjudging contracts to ghost companies with ghost gambling machines.
For those of us in the middle, it was evident the lack of crime there, only to have seen the arguments put forward by the Prosecutor's Office because, when they supposedly found machines that had been confiscated years ago, they appeared to be working on existing contracts, which was serious Indication of corruption inside Coljuegos.
The explanation was very simple and with all due respect the prosecutor Ciro Lobelo had to focus his investigation in ascertaining if the platelets were original or not so to have discovered what we all have always known: some operators who give them of "smart guys" take advantage of registries of Import of companies that have sold machines in the market and clone, plaquetean Spanish word for: numbers that are known are no longer on the market and with those "new identities" bring to life slot machines that condition with CPU They buy on the black market and assemble what is known as a "clone".
By the time of ETESA, there was no law that forced to destroy the machines seized, in fact, when they were confiscated they were sent to a customs warehouse to wait their auction after being declared in abandonment, only until the creation of Coljuegos entered Force the destruction of the equipment but ATTENTION following the norms of environmental conservation not to throw wastes and to take advantage of the components that can be recycled or incorporated to productive processes.
The investigation lost its purpose because of the stigma of the gambling industry; Because at the head of all who participated dreamed of finding "the cartel of the cards" or something, worthy of a TV series that competed with "the cartel of the toads", when the answer was simple.
The ITRC has performed a praiseworthy work but should have been more cautious and collate as much as possible, the evidence not to have been punctuated by a scandal that in no way favored any:
- To Coljuegos because he put it in the public eye within 3 days of hosting the Ibero-American gaming summit and that it tainted his record;
- ITRC that lost credibility and its president because of this debacle;
- the prosecutor who conducted the investigation as this was one more of the false positives that precede his name and which adds to the list of similar cases as INCODER and others;
- us, the industry, which in this way continues to feed the popular imagination of betrayals, shootings and millionaires overnight because of a business that generates 100% revenues.
For those who are late and do not know what I am writing about, I land them: this is a column that tells what should not happen again to a healthy industry, for which we fight from the hand of regulators to be taken into scope, that as the longest-lived couples in society we have differences and that we build day by day a relationship that develops over work and trust.
This is a column about a False Positive ...
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Unfortunate, if not infamous, was the intervention of Marco Emilio, president of Coljuegos, during the inauguration of the event, and the opening of the two assemblies of the associations, at the last GATexpo in Cartagena.
Considering that he is a person alien to the industry and especially to those located, he should demonstrate less servility towards permanent bets and respect, as in the army, the seniority of all of us. Many, if not all, of us feel offended by the derogatory comments and ignorance of the enormous effort of people like Elizabeth Maya and Evert Montero who have prioritized the implementation and good practices regarding money laundering. assets.
In the best style of the old policy - which is understandable - it has turned Coljuegos into another state institution where the “aja” is already a reference to accelerate the permits that have been held up for months, most likely to soften the (the) sorry businessman who will end up leaving the envelope under the trash can there and come pick it up on Monday...
When asked about Coljuegos, he only limits himself to reading the speech that has been passed to him from the office of his advisors and that is where the verbiage about lotteries, chances and bets comes to the surface of his lips and there is nothing else on the page From Coljuegos there are only approvals for draws, perks, new regulations, facilities, opening of markets for permanent bets and for a permit from an operator, there is no time... of course sorry, as he said at the Fair: the illegals and thugs from the locals and casinos who have earned that reputation through their own fault should go to the prosecutor's office to report because I don't know anything.
It's embarrassing when he starts talking about technology and the trip to Las Vegas - sponsored of course - and that on an important news network he said that by seeing the machines he knew how they paid, oh no! So, he dedicates himself to gambling and makes more money... or he writes a book and becomes a millionaire, and at the same time destroys all the casinos in the world because he is going to reveal the secret.
Since his arrival, Coljuegos has gone from more to less and it is not necessary to be a fortune teller to know that he came to the entity to do what he had to do regardless of the cost, in the end he is not the one who pays, it is us and they pay him for that.
What else to expect from the very corrupt, very old school.
Gambling Ins.
A gavel, a gong, a bell; the three symbols of a fresh day of trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Although the tool itself has changed over the years, the act of the ‘opening bell’ has been solidified across public trading houses - even though Nasdaq doesn’t have a physical trading floor, the house still has an opening bell ceremony each day. That’s how strong it is.
However, more companies, with some high-profile examples within gaming, are pulling away from this iconic morning routine and instead favoring the quiet life of private equity.
But why are companies going private?
There are a few reasons why some big gambling companies are going private.
First of all, when a company goes public, there is a far greater level of administration and bureaucracy. A private company therefore has more control over its business, without having to please multiple shareholders.
Once a company goes private, the business is in the hands of a few select people; either the private equity firm or the family controlling the company. This makes it infinitely easier to make decisions and act on them.
There’s also less volatility from being on the publicly traded stock market, too. The stock market has quite infamous ups and downs, but unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years, you’ve probably noticed some global events that affected the economy quite severely.
If anything, this proves that there’s no set path to success for companies; going public is no longer a symbol of ‘making it’ but should instead be analysed as a viable strategy, rather than the only strategy
One of the biggest positives of being publicly traded, however, is access to capital. It used to be one of the only ways companies could get funding for projects, which is why going public was historically seen as the end goal for many businesses in the past.
But this isn’t the case anymore. Even as far back as 2018, IPOs brought in $50.3bn in the tech sector, while private equity firms invested $130.9bn.
Some companies never went public in the first place.
Once a company goes private, the business is in the hands of a few select people; either the private equity firm or the family controlling the company. This makes it infinitely easier to make decisions and act on them. The biggest example in gambling is bet365, which has been private since it launched in 2000, owned and operated by the Coates family. On the supplier side, Interblock is a huge firm one would assume is NYSE-listed but has remained private, in 2022 being acquired by (you guessed it, private equity) funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
So perhaps we’ll see a new era of company ownership going forward, where gaming companies won’t be afraid to rely on private equity, rather than face the public eye on the stock market. Is it time for more casino and sports betting companies to take a gamble on their products and boot out the shareholders and their opinions for good?
A report conducted by YieldSec and commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) suggests the illegal sports betting and online casino markets are far outpacing the legal betting market.
The report says 103 legal operators (both online casino and sports betting apps) target U.S. customers, while there are 860 illegal operators targeting U.S. customers. The report says those illegal operators generated $40.9 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2023 compared to $16.9 billion for legal operators.
The report even estimates the amount wagered on the 2024 Super Bowl via illegal operators was $500 million more than the amount wagered through illegal operators in 2023.
“The black market is alive and well in America. Legalizing iGambling was never going to adequately weaken the illegals,” CFG founder Derek Webb said in a press release. “But the presence of the black market has served as a useful foil — the legal gambling sector’s main rationalization for expansion.”
“Substitution from illegals to legals is simply not happening at the pace it should – illegals are used as brands of choice and convenience, with some substitution to legals for offers and account opening incentives, when available, as with the Super Bowl,” the report concludes.
In this week of reflection, we bring you again some capsules, which regardless of your creed, have small messages that we hope you will take advantage of to improve your life and your relationship with your environment and your peers; Let's take these days to put our ideas in order and move forward in this enormous challenge of being better people and being happy.
Be aware that the arrogant ego loves to change others, control them, manipulate, and submit.
That ego is the self without love and without God, proud, denied humility and, therefore, prisoner. It is impossible to love without humility because the proud do not understand, do not listen, do not dialogue, and offend.
He does not forgive or ask for forgiveness, he dominates, subdues, despises and believes he is right.
A wise man said: “All evils spring from pride, which is lack of love, and good things come with humility.”
Ego it means “I” in Latin and there are three kinds of egos:
1. Loving ego, listen to it and follow it.
2. Proud ego, give it many doses of humility, but it is not bad. Nothing is.
3. Defective ego, it focuses only on the negative and you must give it self-love and security.
Author: Gonzalo Gallo He is a Colombian writer and former priest. He was born in Medellín, Antioquia. Gallo belonged to the Discalced Carmelites community. Gallo spent 22 of his 24 years of priesthood in the city of Cali, where he became popular among other things for his massive masses in the city's Eucharistic Temple1, in addition to his style, humor and social works. “I cultivate several hobbies because I see that the more lights you turn on in your life, the less shadows bring down your spirits. I feel that in my spirituality I feel like a lover and admirer of Jesus and Buddha, without being in a religion.”
Pop singer Bruno Mars has been in the spotlight recently for reportedly racking up $50 million in gambling debts at the casino he’s been performing at — though MGM Resorts said in a statement to MarketWatch on Thursday that this speculation is “completely false,” and that Mars “has no debt with MGM.”
One Grammy-winning artist aside, gambling poses serious financial challenges to millions of Americans, both at in-person casinos and online.
About 2.5 million adults in the U.S. are estimated to have a severe gambling problem, while another 5 million to 8 million have mild or moderate gambling problems, according to the nonprofit National Council on Problem Gambling. It impacts regular consumers and celebrities alike, with golf star Phil Mickelson recently opening up about his gambling addiction on Instagram. Mars has said he played cards to make money before his music career
Sports gambling has grown significantly in recent years amid a wave of legalization across the country that has made it easier for people to place bets on their phones. Americans legally wagered $119.84 billion on sports in 2023, up 27.8% from the previous year, according to the American Gaming Association. Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, it’s been up to individual states to legalize sports betting, and it’s now legal in 38 states plus Washington, D.C.
Some people who can’t control their gambling problem have gambling disorder, a diagnosable condition that’s associated with a higher rate of suicide.
Gambling’s financial impact can be severe: The average debt generated by men with a gambling problem ranges from $55,000 to $90,000, while for women it’s $15,000, according to Debt.org, an informational website about debt maintained by the nonprofit InCharge Education Foundation. Many withdraw cash advances on their personal lines of credit and rack up expenses on their credit cards to gamble.
Some people also borrow money, called a casino marker, from casinos by filling out an application on-site; legally, this is handled differently from a short-term loan.
According to online materials from Las Vegas attorney Joel Mann, “Under Nevada law, casino markers are not considered a loan. Rather, they are like a check that you have written to the casino. If you do not have the money in the bank to cover a marker when it comes due, you can face serious criminal charges.”
Some people who can’t control their gambling problem have gambling disorder, a diagnosable condition that’s associated with a higher rate of suicide.
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