Fecoljuegos has escalated its message in Colombia’s regulatory debate, warning that gambling policy is increasingly being shaped by political pressure rather than technical analysis—a shift the trade body says could distort diagnostics and lead to miscalibrated decisions that weaken the legal market.
“At the core of its argument is a basic—but frequently misunderstood—metric: handle is not revenue.”
According to Fecoljuegos president Evert Montero Cárdenas, roughly 95% of the money wagered is returned to players as prizes, while the remaining margin must fund the entire compliance-heavy structure of a legal operator: technology, licensing, audits, AML controls, cybersecurity, responsible gaming programs, staff, and the statutory transfers that finance public health. When policymakers treat total wagers as “operator income,” the result can be tax and regulatory proposals that overestimate profitability and unintentionally punish formal channels.
The association links that risk to a broader concern: regulatory and tax instability. In its view, frequent rule changes, shifting interpretations, and slow administrative cycles raise the cost of compliance, depress long-term investment, and create an opening for illegal platforms that do not pay gaming duties or meet consumer-protection standards.
The timing is sensitive. Colombia’s regulator Coljuegos is currently running a public consultation—open until March 6, 2026—on proposed adjustments to the framework for internet-operated games, reviving the debate over technical precision and competitive balance versus offshore and unlicensed supply.
For licensed operators and suppliers, the message is clear: getting the numbers right is not a detail. It is the difference between a ruleset that strengthens channelisation and one that accelerates leakage. A stable, technically grounded framework is what makes legal investment predictable—a safe investment .
