{"id":14681,"date":"2025-12-04T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?post_type=europe&#038;p=14681"},"modified":"2025-12-03T22:38:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T03:38:48","slug":"a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"europe","link":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/europe\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper\/","title":{"rendered":"A shameful precedent: Colombia\u2019s gambling regulator accused of silencing a foreign newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Colombia is facing a storm over censorship and regulatory overreach after it emerged that access to Swedish newspaper <em>Expressen<\/em> was blocked in the country shortly after it published a series of reports on the lifestyle and trips of First Lady Ver\u00f3nica Alcocer. At the center of the controversy is an unlikely actor: Coljuegos, the authority in charge of regulating gambling, now accused of being used as a political tool against the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14678\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.333342375823997;width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper2.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The current president of Coljuegos involved in numerous controversies related to Petro`s orders<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case surfaced when opposition congresswoman Katherine Miranda requested official information from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC). In its written response, MinTIC confirmed that the domain of the Swedish outlet appears on the official list of websites to be blocked in Colombia, a list that is compiled and sent by Coljuegos. Even more troubling is the date: according to the ministry, <em>Expressen<\/em> was added to that list on 31 October 2025, just days before the first article about Alcocer was published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper3-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper3-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/a-shameful-precedent-colombias-gambling-regulator-accused-of-silencing-a-foreign-newspaper3.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Formally, Coljuegos does have the power to request the blocking of websites that operate or promote illegal gambling. That mechanism has been used for years to fight unlicensed betting and offshore casinos that target Colombian players without authorization. What had never happened before is that a major foreign news outlet ended up on the same blacklist used for illegal gaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the blocking was denounced publicly, both Coljuegos and MinTIC tried to distance themselves from the political implications. MinTIC stressed that it does not decide who is blocked; it simply forwards the list it receives from Coljuegos to internet service providers. Coljuegos, for its part, argued that the domain had allegedly been reported as problematic as far back as 2021, under a previous government, because of links or advertising related to betting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those explanations leave serious gaps. If the inclusion really dated from 2021, why does the MinTIC reply show 31 October 2025 as the registration date? Why did <em>Expressen<\/em> remain accessible to Colombian readers for years and suddenly become unreachable only after publishing investigations into the presidential family? And why was a gambling regulator the institution managing a decision with such obvious political and diplomatic consequences?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the gaming industry, the episode is more than a political scandal: it is a direct blow to the credibility and independence of the regulator. Coljuegos is supposed to be a neutral referee that guarantees legal certainty for licensed operators and investors, not an actor perceived as carrying out retaliation against critical journalism. Turning a technical tool to combat illegal gambling into a weapon in a political dispute\u2014or even creating that perception\u2014sets a shameful precedent in Colombia\u2019s gambling history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Press freedom organizations and industry observers are now calling for a transparent investigation. Whatever the final explanation\u2014bureaucratic error, misclassification, or abuse of power\u2014the damage is already done: the image of a regulator stepping far beyond its mandate and entering the political arena, in a way never before seen in Colombia\u2019s gaming sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colombia faces a censorship scandal as gambling regulator Coljuegos is linked to the blocking of Swedish daily Expressen after reports on First Lady Ver\u00f3nica Alcocer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14679,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1488,3,9,733],"class_list":{"0":"post-14681","1":"europe","2":"type-europe","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sin-categoria","8":"tag-ban","9":"tag-coljuegos","10":"tag-colombia","11":"tag-petro","12":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - 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