The National Corporation of Gambling Entrepreneurs (Cornazar) expressed its concern about the changes introduced in the Financing Law project.
According to the association, these measures generate a negative impact on the gambling sector in Colombia. The new Law proposal also seeks to tax the 15 online betting houses authorized by Coljuegos with a value added tax (VAT) of 19%, which would make them an unviable business.
According to Cornazar, these measures would have the following consequences for the sector:
- Reduction in the number of jobs, the vast majority of which are for women heads of household.
- Decrease in establishments and gambling elements, which in turn would affect contributions to Health in Colombia.
- Disincentive to investment, operating costs with high tax burdens result in a lack of interest in investing in the Gaming Industry in Colombia.
- The return to the player could be affected, reducing this benefit would cause a lack of interest in the player for this activity
- The tax burden generates a framework of mistrust, does not generate economic reactivation and would aim to favor informality in the gaming sector, which would go against a legal framework and responsible gaming.
What it will generate the most is leveling the online gaming platforms, a little more than $2 billion. “It would be an impossible tax burden to meet, because this type of gaming modality has high operating costs to develop this economic activity”
These tax percentages are also added to the payment to Coljuegos, which is 12% of the monthly net income per machine, income tax, contributions to Supersalud and all costs, operating and administration expenses.
This alert adds to the concern of Fecoljuegos, which considered that taxing online betting will make the activity "unviable." For its part, Asojuegos also expressed its rejection of the proposal, which would generate "a massive flight of players to illegal platforms." Coljuegos
