In previous days I participated in the fourth Colombian Business Congress organized by the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI) where the president, Iván Duque, spoke against the need for the private sector to find in the National Government a strategic ally to grow , consolidate and conquer new markets.

In addition, he emphasized the need to work for the challenge of informality by creating strategies to access formality. From the intervention of the president, a great question arises about the work being done by the Government as a supposed ally and partner of the game entrepreneurs in Colombia.

Coljuegos as a regulatory entity should ambitiously bet on the growth, competitiveness and sustainability of the gaming industry ... it should bet on inclusive development recognizing the importance of this sector in the country's development and economy.

We provide significant resources to the coffers of the State and strive to make public opinion aware of it; nevertheless, our efforts go unnoticed by the strategy of communications of Coljuegos that, instead of exalting the contribution of the entrepreneurs to the national economy, speaks of little or no reliability in detriment of the economy of the sector and of the reputation of the small ones and medium entrepreneurs of the gambling sector.

We need budgetary relief because between the confiscatory nature of the tax rate, high operating costs and the overflow of illegality, dividends are limited. This is why the applicability of the new way of liquidating exploitation rights is urgent and urgent.

Large entrepreneurs have the ability to renew their fleet of machines, to invest in loyalty strategies, to pay propaganda in mass media and to accept “obsolete taxes” (as the Minister of Finance called them) with ease and momentum.

However, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs are not in financial, human and logistical capacity to bow their heads and shut up before every mess of Coljuegos.

The reputation of the sector depends on many actors. Each one must generate a pleasant relationship with the public of interest and with society. Service providers, product manufacturers, authorized operators, associations, Coljuegos, ITRC, UIAF, UNODC, Ministry of Finance, Superfinanciera, among others ... must work hand in hand so that the bank opens to the sector, so that the municipal leaders do not they corner the games in a gloomy corner of the territories or simply do not allow them within their PBOT, so that when opening Casinos and Bingos they are received as an opportunity and not as a threat, so that the entrepreneurs take pride in the activity, so that Every Colombian recognizes the game as entertainment and fun.