The guild has been analyzing this normativity and the analyzes have basically started from two situations: Difficulties in the expedition of the same by the Mayors or their delegates, and, the necessity to present a concept on the same place, when the Contract under which he was covered.
Operators have found it very difficult for municipal authorities to issue such documents. Mayors and secretaries of office delegated for the issuance of the Pre-Favorable Concept, are not aware of the scope of this document, its legal nature, its content, but above all, do not dimension the importance of its issuance for the generation of resources for its municipality, since the operation of games in each municipality implies the transfer of resources for health, in addition to the jobs it generates.
The lack of knowledge of the content and scope of the Pre-Favorable Concept, has caused that the officials do not send them, ignoring rights acquired by entrepreneurs who have been making use of this activity for more than 10 years; But more serious, has been a focus of corruption, becoming an additional cost that must be assumed by the operator.
To the above is added the topic of delegations, since a few months ago Coljuegos has been demanding that the acts of delegation or manual of functions of the officials who in exercise of their duties issued the previous concepts, which is worse The reality is that the municipalities do not deliver them (delegations or manual of functions), or do not exist such delegations, or simply do not know the subject, leading to a vicious circle in which the requests are not solved and the great Affected is the operator, who must "beg" before the municipal authorities and before the regulator for solutions.
On the other hand, there is the issue of EFFECTIVENESS, which is the focus of both legal and technical discussion, and the starting point for a requirement that should be requested only once (when the premises start for the first time Economic) to become, in the cause for the termination of operating permits that have been in force for many years.
We understand that the Law 643 of 2001 in its article 32 indicates that it is necessary to issue the Precedent Favorable Concept of the Mayor for the operation of premises dedicated to localized games, but also indicates that this activity will be developed in establishments where the operation of games located with other commercial or service activities.
This Pre-Favorable Concept previously issued to the activity, generates in the operator the certainty that it will be able to develop a company (this is to accredit a brand, to generate a clientele, to realize investments), added to the operation authorized by the competent entity, which cannot Be unknown later on by any entity, nor the municipal, nor national, such as Coljuegos.
The requirement to be "prior to", enshrined in the law, not only generates an awareness of permanence and development of economic activity, but implies an acquired right that cannot be unknown by situations that cannot be controlled by the operator, Such as, for example, that an educational center, a church or even a change of the POT should come into operation afterwards, since even in the latter case, the rights of the previously established activities to the modification of the POT must be recognized.
What is happening in reality is clearly absurd, since cases have been seen in which, a local that has been operating for more than 10 years in the city of Bogota, a year ago located a center of education at 100 Meters and this is generating that you are not aware of all rights over the lawful exercise of your activity, however, be first in time (and weighed by general principle of law, first in time first in law).
"Now who should control that they are not located around educational centers or churches at the distances established for games of chance, are territorial entities and not the economic operator, who previously had already consolidated their legal status?
This clearly constitutes a failure in administrative management, which cannot be transferred to the individual.
All the above is a very serious concern and has the game operators located near the end of their establishments, because despite being an activity that generated for the year 2016 $ 270.256 Million pesos, only in operating rights, which Are transferred to the municipalities directly for health; Not to mention the fiscal, parafiscal and employment generation of this important economic activity that significantly affects not only the resources of the municipality, but also those of the Nation.
Our guild is concerned that regulatory measures (not just the law, as it is intended to expose in the different scenarios) on issues of exploitation rights for localized games, and the lack of timely response to the difficulties facing the sector, Will end up leading companies to bankruptcy, strengthening the illegality, because the Preliminary Concept is only an ingredient of the great difficulties facing the industry of games of chance, in the medium term will be reached a certain unsustainability of the operation as a result of the Application of measures such as those set out here, the high tax burden and high barriers by sectors such as the financial and insurance sectors.
* FECOLJUEGO´S President
I loved
I liked
I dont liked
What more could you expect from someone outside the industry was the title of my last column that caused a stir at all levels of the gaming industry.
Making mistakes is human, Marco Emilio, president of Coljuegos, in a gesture of kindness, publicly acknowledged his mistake and issued a statement apologizing, which I appreciate for the sake of respect for all the actors in this industry and the good name of those of us who are part of it.
Any stumbling block occurs in life, and this is a good time for us to be heard and the wheels of Coljuegos to be put in motion so that the approval of the impounded procedures is accelerated, which since the entry into the entity of Marco Emilio It was promised by the legal department and that deadline of October 26, 2023, was left in limbo.
ACTA NON VERBA, of course I am not being pedantic, but that you have understood that the industry does not live on chance and lotteries alone, gives it a more equitable approach in proceeding and I hope that you listen to both operators and manufacturers of casino machines, that we are stranded by laziness in attention.
The past two weeks I received several messages constraining me to retract my comments, which not only restricts freedom of expression, but also demonstrates the lack of character of those who servilely believe that for the benefit of all we must endure... respect we all deserve since there are no people more or less than others; Remember we are all pushing forward in the Games of Luck and Chance industry.
Once again, the winner is respect.
Sports betting, suspended soccer players and teams, rigged championships, scandals the order of the day are the daily news lately. In Chile and other countries in the world, the sponsorship of teams by betting houses is distrusted, because it is not entirely unusual to think that some ally with each other and end up favoring a particular bet.
In Europe, especially in Spain, match-fixing is fought by small clubs that have been discovered and where one or two players have finally been personally punished, which is not a deterrent to prevent Premier League matches from being fixed. league.
For its part, the Bundesliga is doing everything in its power and knowledge to closely follow the matches, with a very restricted regulation of sports betting but which does not guarantee full transparency of the results.
But not only he soccer; A few weeks ago, tennis player Younes Rachidi was banned for life for allowing himself to be beaten at will and collecting betting dividends. Bárbara Gatica Avilés Chilean tennis player suspended 3 years; Premier League top scorer Ivan Toney is facing a ban for illegal betting… and the list goes on. In Colombia we are not the exception and Llaneros has been accused of a shameless arrangement to favor a result.
In a column published by Dr. Hernán Peláez, he commented: Thank goodness here, Coljuegos gives a license to betting houses. But I don't know if it monitors the exercise and the yields of these operations and health aid are publicly known —and should be— and education. Or does anyone know? to get out of my ignorance.
I answer: if Coljuegos does financial monitoring BUT it is time for Coljuegos to start a crusade in pursuit of Fair Play and be the guarantor of fair play and prevent soccer from being used to launder money through betting; His function, among others, is control, not just the collection of money; he has to see where he comes from, and that is the task he must take on.
The Brazilian Senate Agency reported that it will discuss draft regulation 2,234/2022 to legalize casinos and jogo do bicho (the popular national lottery) throughout the country. In the first instance, the project will be debated by the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ).
Bill (PL) 2,234/2022 was presented two years ago by the now former deputy Renato Vianna to authorize, among other modalities, the operation of casinos and bingos, horse racing and the aforementioned lottery.
The text authorizes the installation of casinos in tourist centers or integrated leisure complexes, under the limit of one casino in each state and Federal District, with the exception of São Paulo, which could have up to three casinos, and Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro .
In addition, gambling houses will also be able to operate on sea and river vessels, which will follow specific rules for this sector. On the other hand, operators must demonstrate a minimum paid-up share capital of at least 100 million reais and will be able to maintain their licenses for 30 years.
At the same time, the bingo sector would also be regulated, in person and online, allowing in each state the accreditation of one legal entity per 700 thousand inhabitants to install these halls. For bingos, licenses would be valid for 25 years, renewable for the same period. Likewise, rules would be added for horse racing, which could be operated by racecourses accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture, which could also operate, at the same time, bingo and video bingo games.
“The project seeks to transfer to state control a practice that today constitutes a minor crime,” argued Senator Irajá Abreu. And he cited statistics on the legal or illegal betting market, which demonstrate that “gambling already constitutes a relevant economic activity.”
The explosion of the Brazilian betting market and the possible opening of casinos is attracting global giants in the sector. According to a report by the newspaper O Globo, companies such as DraftKings, Hard Rock International and MGM Resorts International, as well as Caesars Entertainment, are considering entering this market.
These names are among the more than 130 companies that have expressed prior interest in a Brazilian license, as reported by the Ministry of Finance.
Unfortunate, if not infamous, was the intervention of Marco Emilio, president of Coljuegos, during the inauguration of the event, and the opening of the two assemblies of the associations, at the last GATexpo in Cartagena.
Considering that he is a person alien to the industry and especially to those located, he should demonstrate less servility towards permanent bets and respect, as in the army, the seniority of all of us. Many, if not all, of us feel offended by the derogatory comments and ignorance of the enormous effort of people like Elizabeth Maya and Evert Montero who have prioritized the implementation and good practices regarding money laundering. assets.
In the best style of the old policy - which is understandable - it has turned Coljuegos into another state institution where the “aja” is already a reference to accelerate the permits that have been held up for months, most likely to soften the (the) sorry businessman who will end up leaving the envelope under the trash can there and come pick it up on Monday...
When asked about Coljuegos, he only limits himself to reading the speech that has been passed to him from the office of his advisors and that is where the verbiage about lotteries, chances and bets comes to the surface of his lips and there is nothing else on the page From Coljuegos there are only approvals for draws, perks, new regulations, facilities, opening of markets for permanent bets and for a permit from an operator, there is no time... of course sorry, as he said at the Fair: the illegals and thugs from the locals and casinos who have earned that reputation through their own fault should go to the prosecutor's office to report because I don't know anything.
It's embarrassing when he starts talking about technology and the trip to Las Vegas - sponsored of course - and that on an important news network he said that by seeing the machines he knew how they paid, oh no! So, he dedicates himself to gambling and makes more money... or he writes a book and becomes a millionaire, and at the same time destroys all the casinos in the world because he is going to reveal the secret.
Since his arrival, Coljuegos has gone from more to less and it is not necessary to be a fortune teller to know that he came to the entity to do what he had to do regardless of the cost, in the end he is not the one who pays, it is us and they pay him for that.
What else to expect from the very corrupt, very old school.
Gambling Ins.
A gavel, a gong, a bell; the three symbols of a fresh day of trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Although the tool itself has changed over the years, the act of the ‘opening bell’ has been solidified across public trading houses - even though Nasdaq doesn’t have a physical trading floor, the house still has an opening bell ceremony each day. That’s how strong it is.
However, more companies, with some high-profile examples within gaming, are pulling away from this iconic morning routine and instead favoring the quiet life of private equity.
But why are companies going private?
There are a few reasons why some big gambling companies are going private.
First of all, when a company goes public, there is a far greater level of administration and bureaucracy. A private company therefore has more control over its business, without having to please multiple shareholders.
Once a company goes private, the business is in the hands of a few select people; either the private equity firm or the family controlling the company. This makes it infinitely easier to make decisions and act on them.
There’s also less volatility from being on the publicly traded stock market, too. The stock market has quite infamous ups and downs, but unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years, you’ve probably noticed some global events that affected the economy quite severely.
If anything, this proves that there’s no set path to success for companies; going public is no longer a symbol of ‘making it’ but should instead be analysed as a viable strategy, rather than the only strategy
One of the biggest positives of being publicly traded, however, is access to capital. It used to be one of the only ways companies could get funding for projects, which is why going public was historically seen as the end goal for many businesses in the past.
But this isn’t the case anymore. Even as far back as 2018, IPOs brought in $50.3bn in the tech sector, while private equity firms invested $130.9bn.
Some companies never went public in the first place.
Once a company goes private, the business is in the hands of a few select people; either the private equity firm or the family controlling the company. This makes it infinitely easier to make decisions and act on them. The biggest example in gambling is bet365, which has been private since it launched in 2000, owned and operated by the Coates family. On the supplier side, Interblock is a huge firm one would assume is NYSE-listed but has remained private, in 2022 being acquired by (you guessed it, private equity) funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
So perhaps we’ll see a new era of company ownership going forward, where gaming companies won’t be afraid to rely on private equity, rather than face the public eye on the stock market. Is it time for more casino and sports betting companies to take a gamble on their products and boot out the shareholders and their opinions for good?
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