With the recent legislation and regulation of online gambling in Colombia in 2017 (a good start, finally), entrepreneurship based on gambling and innovation within the country had a respite.
However, there is a nature of the environment of the game beyond its legislation, radically different to undertakings in other sectors. Based on our experience in Apuestamil, in this article I will describe what is facing someone with courage to start a business in this sector in Colombia, traveling the path of incorporation, sources of seed capital and search for talent.
When you register your company in the Chamber of Commerce, the title of your Certificate of Registration will be written in bold "GAMBLING SELLER" (as if to say, "Here is an imminent threat to society").
It is enough for any bank to read this heading to deny him, in his face, the opening of the company's account, with some adolescent excuse invented by the bank's operational level officials. In the best case, you will be asked at least 25 prior procedures, instead of telling you not at once.
Assuming that he managed to open the account and survive the one-day DIAN row to complete the registration, he follows the stage of finding the capital to finance his operation.
Finding sources of capital for a gambling company is a very difficult task (this added to the fact that regulation is proper for the sector). In the other sectors and with few inventive levels, the enterprises can obtain a valuable press coverage, cash and investment of contests, prizes and "pitch" events. However, if you are starting a gambling company in Colombia, do not bother submitting an application to those contests, since the juries for the applications or the events have no understanding of the betting sector in Colombia and it is little likely to motivate him to participate or win the event.
On the other hand, the conversation with private equity funds or Colombian angel investors is something like: "Game? Hmm, probably not. Technology? Yes. Marketing? Yes. But then you do internal technology, right? Yes. So maybe it's yes, is it a game? Good". In the end, the answer is the following: "Although we understand the concept and see its value in the current market, we do not invest (currently) in games of chance".
Despite this reality, there are alternatives in the least imagined places. In a parallel world, we obtained support from the Colombian Government, with financial resources, training, visibility and connections, from public entities ...
... such as Fondo Emprender, Fonade, Sena, MinTIC and Innpulsa, among the main ones. In Colombia, the entrepreneurship ecosystem works in reverse, with the government being the main and largest investor that risks in the seed stage.
Let's say that you managed to incorporate, open the bank's account (and they did not close it suddenly and for good reason) and get the resources to start. Now he continues to find human talent.
The people you can find in Colombia are mainly lawyers and accountants who will guide you on regulatory and tax matters, respectively. Very valuable and specific advice and therefore, expensive. For example, for an online betting business you will need traders, marketing affiliates, technology development and quota providers, to name a few activities. This talent is outside of Colombia and is also costly, adding the ingredient of the language barrier.
As a conclusion, undertaking in the gaming sector in Colombia is a very difficult task, but not impossible. It is necessary to be methodical and surround yourself with people and allies with specific experience in the sector, hitting the right doors. A lot of patience and forward !.
* Victor Espinosa is Executive director of Apuestamil, a Colombian company
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