Numerous online betting companies are currently focusing their sights on the Latin American continent, a trend that has been accentuated in the last five years due to the potential offered by the countries of the region. Brazil is the largest market and Mexico the largest among the Spanish-speaking ones… but Colombia stands out for being the best regulated
Since 2016 there has been a regulatory body for the gambling industry in the country, Coljuegos, which has among its tasks the issuance of activity authorizations to companies that wish to offer betting and online gambling in its different variants, being the betting pages in Colombia and the most widespread casino websites.
It is a system that, on the one hand, gives certainty to betting operators, and that, on the other, also offers guarantees to clients of gambling and betting websites. But, in addition, another advantage of the model is that the revenues that the State collects from regulated operators… revert to social benefits for all Colombians.
In 2019, up to 170 million dollars raised from gambling companies went to health, science and technology programs that ultimately benefit the Colombian population. The benefits further, however, because that year the gambling industry was able to generate 111,000 new jobs in the country.
For all this, Colombia, and particularly Coljuegos as a regulator, have become the example to follow for the rest of the Latin American countries. If the aforementioned were not reason enough, in addition, Coljuegos demonstrates the ability to adapt to the online environment and does so by regulating a greater number of games on websites every day.
New game variants supported in 2020
Without going any further, this year two new forms of online gambling have been approved: live casinos and video bingo. In both cases, it is about games in which people participate through the web while they follow the evolution of the game by video (webcam), which actually takes place, but remotely.
Live casino gambling are in fact conducted by real dealers, and there are several types; being roulette, blackjack, baccarat or poker the most typical in Live online casinos. Although Coljuegos has recently approved this modality, its implementation is still underway and therefore it is not yet possible to find live games on regulated websites.
But video bingo sites are already an option in many of them, as is the case with Zamba, a 100% Colombian company. The requirement of Coljuegos is that the game takes place physically, with players participating remotely online, and that both the box containing the balls and the draw are visible to the player at all times, as well as the board with the numbers already issued - although in this case an exception is established: the use of a random number generator for the draw.
It is also necessary, in the case of an interruption in the game, that the operator take the pertinent actions to return to the moment of the gambling in which such interruption occurred, and in case of not being able to make it reimburse the player. In addition, Coljuegos establishes that the online videobingo operator must return to the player at least 58% of the amount played and pay 12% of the turnover in taxes.
Other aspect is the focus of the body regulator to enhance foreing investment by developing new gambling products that are not only adapted to the new post-covid reality but also interesting for international players and in an industry that has been so traditional and with oligopolies by at least the last 15 years.
Meaning that is a sector that is near to die if it does not innovate with new products or competitors that boost the quality of services, we are talking about the scratch and win options with no VAT for international lottery operators.
According to Coljuegos, these 3 elements has helped the health sector to have the minimum earnings to work during the covi-19 which besides the economy has reopen the vast majority of casinos has been open for one month only. With a forecast of 60% of the usual balances this is nothing if the background is understood. There are many casino operators that are completely in debt because they pay from their own pocket the salary of their employees, and the government did not give any help to them. Normally casinos represent the biggest contributions to the health.
In the process of economic reactivation of localized games or casinos, as of October 13, there are 81,166 slot machines already operating compared to the 88,066 that were operating before the mandatory isolation, 9,920 bingo chairs operating compared to the 20,793 that were in operation until March and 412 casino tables compared to 571 before of the pandemic. Currently, 331 concession contracts with Coljuegos are active.
