For now, the main video game in which the Colombian players will be competing will be the mobile shooter Free Fire, which has been recognized as one of the most played in Latin America. It is also expected to expand the list of games in which they will participate with titles such as FIFA and Valorant once the necessary competitions are held to position the players in the respective spaces.
In the other hand, eSports betting has gained much space within the Colombian sportbooks specially during the pandemic when all the sports events were cancelled. Even during the GAT expo 2021, they were one of the most dominant participants within the fair.
For 2025, it is expected that the industry grows 70% in Latam reaching the 3,500 M USD. According to projections, this year eSports will close with an audience of 800 million people, but the study projects more than one billion viewers by 2025, or one in eight people worldwide.
Colombia has learned fast from countries in Europe with this trend and has stablish some ideas that has helped the industry to enters more and more day-to-day basis. One clear example of that is the eSports bars for example that have been great space to create environments to young people spend time after most of the entertainment spaces as they were before having been damaged so much. This has boosted the participation of young players within the gambling industry.
Oficial team for 1st time: women all of them
For the first time in history, a women-only competitive eSports team will be formed in Colombia, which will develop its activities in the eSports environment in a professional manner.
Nowadays, the number of women who consider themselves "gamers" or video game fans is growing exponentially, to the point of currently being considered almost half of the active players globally, according to figures shared by the Wall Street Journal. However, those numbers are still not as high when it comes to the professional competitive scene.
According to a report by the BBC, there are currently no women in the top 300 highest-earning gamers in competitive video game events.
The main squad is made up of players Maria Camila Villafañe, Karen Meliza Varon, Helen Rodriguez, Natalia Galvis and Sundara Moreno. However, among its plans is expected to increase the number of members as the team is increasingly positioned among the rest of the competitive groups
Me encanto
Me gustó
No me gustó
Representatives of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) of Brazil met with authorities of the Buenos Aires Lottery (LOTBA), taking advantage of their visit to Buenos Aires during the CIBELAE 2024 Conference.
Simone Vicentini [pictured] , deputy secretary of the SPA, had a meeting with Jesús Acevedo, president of LOTBA, and his team, a meeting in which executives from Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), a certification company approved in both jurisdictions, also participated.
The participation of SPA members in the Cibelae 2024 Conference revolved around this year's central theme: "Sports Betting in Latin America: approaches to a developing market." The SPA, created in February of this year to regulate sports betting and online casino games, plans to develop and implement a regulatory framework for online gaming, payment methods, strategies for responsible gaming and prevention of money laundering.
All these areas are of reference for the LOTBA, and the meeting also served to share that experience.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) published the new General Competition Regulations (RGC) of 20241. This document establishes the general norms and rules for the dispute of all championships organized by the entity. One of the most notable novelties of the new RGC is the regulation on betting house sponsorships on club uniforms. According to Article 114, the display of betting house brands on club uniforms is conditional on compliance with the requirements set forth in Law 14790/2023 and in the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.
Law 14790 on Sports Betting came into force on December 29. This rule and the regulation of the Ministry of Finance are fundamental for the implementation of the new rules on betting house sponsorships.
The new RGC also reinforces integrity actions and combats the manipulation of results. The CBF may request the production of a report by a company specialized in the detection of manipulation of results. In addition, sports betting companies must submit a declaration of non-involvement in any economic infringement or ethical violation related to the manipulation of sports results.
In recent months, Coljuegos has dismantled illegal betting houses that would have stopped transferring nearly usd $20million annually in exploitation rights.
A total of 445 gambling elements such as slot machines, computer equipment, roulette wheels, televisions, among others, were destroyed by Coljuegos in the municipality of Itagüí, Antioquia. All these items were used in illegal gambling and were valued at nearly usd$500k.
“We have another 4,600 illegal elements of games of luck and chance that will be destroyed in the coming days in municipalities such as Cali and Bucaramanga.”
Likewise, during the destruction of the items, $23,751,050 ( usd $4,500 )in coins and bills were found that were inside the electronic slot machines. These resources are constituted as a judicial deposit in the name of Coljuegos and may be transferred to health.
Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), president of the Senate, announced the senators appointed to join the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on Sports Betting.
The CPI’s purpose is to investigate and clarify issues related to allegations and suspicions of match-fixing in Brazilian football.
The collegiate has scheduled its first session for Wednesday, where it will elect the president, vice-president and possibly the rapporteur. The complaints being investigated by the CPI cover players, managers, and betting companies. The creation of the CPI was announced on March 12.
Sports betting CPI: investigation and objectives
Senator Romário (PL-RJ) requested the CPI, which will have 11 full senators and 7 substitutes, lasting 180 days. In the application (RQS 158/2024), the senator emphasizes that sports betting represents a significant financial movement today.
“It is important to highlight that football is a vital economic activity for the country. Thus, it generates tens of thousands of jobs and drives significant income generation. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the State to regulate and supervise its activities in favor of the public interest”, argues the senator.
Hosted at the prestigious Transamerica Expo Centre in São Paulo, this two-day expo and conference marks a triumphant return after a successful inaugural launch last year. With renowned brazilian social media icons, Negrete and Ronald Lopes. Negrete, with a staggering four million Instagram followers, has captivated audiences with his comedic sports videos, particularly his uncanny player imitations, propelling him to social media superstardom.
Lopes’ impact on the industry is evident, as evidenced by his back-to-back wins for Best affiliate of the year at the Bis Awards in 2023 and Best affiliate influencer at the SiGma Awards 2023.
Originally aspiring to be a footballer, Negrete’s trajectory took an unexpected turn when he assumed the role of Pelé’s stunt double in an autobiographical movie about the football legend. Adding to his accolades, Negrete clinched the coveted Best Influencer 2024 award at the SiGma Eurasia Awards held in Dubai this February, further solidifying his status as a trailblazer in the influencer landscape.
Meanwhile, Ronald Lopes, a self-proclaimed financially retired iGaming luminary, is embarking on a mission to guide 300 Brazilians to multimillionaire status this year through the P4P market – an extraordinary journey he plans to share with delegates during the upcoming SiGma conference.
Lopes’ impact on the industry is evident, as evidenced by his back-to-back wins for Best affiliate of the year at the Bis Awards in 2023 and Best affiliate influencer at the SiGma Awards 2023.