Last 25th of july the Regulations of internet operated games in Colombia was published and placed into action by resolution of the President of Coljuegos; which as most of you know is the public company that is in charge of administrating the monopoly of gaming and in such acts as a good medium to regulate such activities.
As well as the regulations the document of Technical requirements for internet operated games and the public data model of the system of inspection (equivalent to the data model of monitoring in spain) were published.
With the publication of these three documents and failing to publish the resolution that would establish the requisites to access the subscription of concessional contracts for internet gaming; COLJUEGOS has completed the process of regulating online gaming and layed the bases for the regulated development of these types of game in the Colombian territory.
The regulation of online gambling has been a long process and one in which COLJUEGOS has had to overcome not only the intrinsic difficulty of any regulatory task, but also the vertigo to place Colombia as the first country in its region to regulate online gambling. By doing so in a way that in my opinion leads to the start of a new market and incorporates ways and solutions that have shown to be successful in other conditions.
Much(and a lot of the good) of the new Colombian norms have como from Spanish regulation which are known to also have come and preceded from European regulations(mainly Italian and French).
As we say, the regulation of a global phenomenon such as online gaming requires study and evaluation of the solutions adopted by other jurisdictions, it requires innovation on issues that were not resolved by the various precedents jurisdictions or that have proven poorly resolved by these and, in any case, the precise adaptation of the measures to the particular circumstances of the country that regulates included.
In this process the new Colombian regulation has taken the best of the Spanish legislation and improved or prevented many measures that hindered or could even affect market development. In addition it has sought the engagement of all these measure in a very different legal and social environment from the Spanish. Only time will show if COLJUEGOS been successful with his work, but I am not mistaken in saying that in the purely regulatory aspect we have a magnificent legislation that is on the right track of a competitive market development, freedom of operators game, not to mention the public control of the activity and the protection of players.
With certainty Colombian rules of online gaming has included from the beginning an extensive catalog of games, of course, much more than that with which we started in spain five years ago and that only a few games were excluded ike, for example, betting on virtual events. It is without doubt more than enough catalog, which provides considerable scope for operators to design their offer and, moreover, if there were to prove insufficient, it is easy to innovate to COLJUEGOS.
The norms help avoid unnecessary authorizations and windows of opportunity for the obtainment concessional contracts, sufficing COLJUEGOS communication and providing the necessary certification for the operation of new games certifications once you have a contract.
The new regulation published by COLJUEGOS has opened the doors to what is sure to be a healthy development of the Colombian market for online gaming and the fact that they have already been made known to operators in other markets (primarily in the Spanish market technical solutions), greatly facilitate entry to many of them in a market that is already in its own right the gateway to online gambling regulated in Latin America.
Colombia is an attractive country with a population slightly under fifty million, with sustained economic growth and outstanding legal certainty. It is an important focus of investor attention in Latin America and, as a result of the new regulations on online gambling as well as the requirements still left to be subscribed for the signing of a contract that allows the operation of this kind of game, is a country where an operator from Spain can move its online operations with ease due to little investment costs and few operational changes.
The economic conditions of the operation are much simpler than in Spain and require much less effort from the operator that is usually required under the Spanish legislation, particularly in regards to guarantees that must be provided and initially placed in the environment of 180,000 euros. If to that we add some exploitment rights (for all practical purposes are the Colombian equivalent to the tax on gambling activities) 15% of net revenues (for games to return to the player over 83%), it is not difficult to see that this is a market that no operator should overlook.
Unfortunately, not everything could be good news and even with the favorable regulation, we find a significant drawback: the subjection of gaming activity to VAT (at a rate of 16%) in addition to the application windfall tax on winnings from games.
In both cases the problems come from the judicial-regulatory branches of Colombia, which through COLJUEGOS there have been several attempts at a solution, but without a doubt still remain troubling for any interested operator trying to partake in the new market. Due to this and without trying to minimize the impact both taxes present on the development of the game activities. Also it cant be said enough that its not a question about a novelty for Colombian citizens but a measure of the same nature would not have the same effects as it would in Europe. Although the VAT exemption would demonstrate a perfectly traced regulation it is still a great reglation that turns Colombia into the ideal place to start a future expansion for the operators currently in spain.
In short, Colombia is already the first Latin American country to regulate online gambling. It is the first that regulates and moreover, in this I personally express my opinion, the first country to correctly decide the path to follow. Only time will tell if, in addition to being a pioneer in online gaming regulation in Latin America, Colombia will also be the source of inspiration for future regulations in their environment.
I have no doubt that for technical and legal quality deserves it, but I am aware that taking the right path, the one that favors the citizens and the market is not always easy in the regulatory environment and much less in the framework of regulation play.
That has been the merit of COLJUEGOS
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