Our experience as a media channel -with more than fifteen years in the gambling field has allowed us to closely monitor the growth and continuous development of the Colombian gambling market.

With a population of more than 48 million people and one of the strongest economies in the region, the industry in Colombia has all the requirements to stand out: to be an investment generator and to contribute - with its income - to the health of all Colombians (only to February of this year, there is a transfer for more than 153,000M COP´s).

Their contribution is translated into their operations, which represent 0.65% of GDP and the generation of some 300,000 jobs.

But to get to where the industry is today, he has had to walk a long and difficult way. The different administrations that were in charge of its regulation have left a significant contribution that contributed to one of its main objectives: to have a legal and transparent industry. And we say that this section has been complicated because the stigmatization of the game - a present reality not only in Colombia, but in the world - could perhaps be the main obstacle to its growth; however, it was the opposite. It ended up being a reason for all the players in the game to work tirelessly in one direction.

In the Peruvian case, the industry of casino games and slot machines managed to formalize 100% more than a decade ago, hand in hand with a regulation with clear rules. One of its greatest advances was the interconnection of all the slot machines, which facilitated a better task of control and control. Colombia on the contrary, in the beginning, suffered from a regulation that could formalized the entire sector, generating the increase of illegal gambling.

Today we see that the country has taken important steps in this task and, at this moment, it is the one that has taken the lead by its recent regulation of online gambling. And, now, it is Peru who hopes to follow that example soon.

In the present administration of Coljuegos we have perceived a greater rapprochement between the private sector and the State, which favored an orderly, open and consensus work.

To begin with, a campaign against illegality was launched, which has allowed, to date, to sign thirteen agreements with various governors and, in parallel, to continue with the intense control operations throughout the territory.

In 2017, the destruction of 3,419 machines was achieved, and although the figure is only a small percentage of the total number of illegal machines in the country, these actions are a good indication of the efforts that are made to face a problem that afflicts much of the region.

There is, on the other hand, a latent commitment of the diverse guilds that give dynamism to the sector, propitiating private investment and adding proposals and initiative for its growth. In this line, there is support from the Ministry of Finance, which has repeatedly highlighted the contribution of the sector to the country, by generating very important tax revenues.

But definitely - as we have mentioned before - one of the most important advances that Colombia has made is the regulation of online gambling, which has placed them as a pioneer in the region.

With this regulation not only introduced a new game mode but opened the market to new investors. Immediately several online gambling operators put their eyes on this market. The result can already be perceived at this moment: nine certified companies. And it is estimated that the number will reach twenty at the end of the year, with the Russian World Cup as a great incentive.

On the other side, it is no coincidence that Colombia has been chosen twice as host to the Ibero-American Gambling Summit, meeting of the highest gaming authorities in the region, thus placing itself in the window of the global industry.

Due to all this, the gambling industry in Colombia have become in recent years one of the industries with the greatest socioeconomic impact in the country, generating investment, income and employment. And although there is much to work to finish consolidating, what has been achieved so far can be taken as an example for the rest of Latin American countries.

* Maria Victoria is Editor and Chief of Casino Peru magazine