INDUSTRY BACKGROUND
Te gaming industry in Colombia is regulated under the Colombian Gambling Act, Law 643 enacted by Congress in 2001. Te original gaming board Empresa Territorial para la Salud (ETESA), set up in 2001 with the aim of raising income for the dilapidated health sector, was replaced with Coljuegos in 2011 after gaming board officials were found to be turning a blind eye to illegal slot parlours in return for cash. Several arrests were made and a full scale enquiry was launched. In late January 2010 President Álvaro Uribe officially announced that he had issued a decree whereby ETESA would gradually be phased out.
Coljuegos has experienced a number of scandals of is own concerning alleged irregularities over the issuing of gaming licences. Indeed in 2017 allegedly corrupt officials were found to be handing out casino licences for cash once again. Tis was aptly described in one newspaper of “like asking mice to watch over cheese.”
Te board has been relatively scandal free for some years now. Although the board has confiscated thousands of pieces of gambling equipment, carried out raids and made arrests illegal gambling is still a major issue overall if not the issue for the gambling industry. In addition the board’s approach has come under criticism too. According to some local reports rather than going after the heads of the criminal gangs who operate illegal gambling it is often the employees who end up getting arrested and paying huge fines.
Te impact of illegal gambling is especially important in Colombia as revenue from gambling goes directly to the Colombian healthcare system so when someone gambles illegally it means less money for those in need. Te board drives this message home with its slogan “Playing legally is betting on the health of Colombians.”
However this message is not getting through to everyone. According to Fedesarrollo (an economic think tank based in Bogota) illegal gambling recorded profits of $353m in 2018 and as much as 53 per cent of the gaming market was still being conducted unlawfully due to illegal gambling much of which was generated via illegal street lotteries.
Although the size of the illegal market is hard to gauge it now
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P39
stands at around 30 per cent of the market overall according to the ex- president of Coljuegos César Augusto Valencia Galiano. Valencia Galiano made the statement in April last year as he signed a pact for the Legality of the Gambling Sector with the department of Quindío - a strategy with which Coljuegos aims to combat illegal gaming. Coljuegos has signed a number of similar pacts with local governments since 2017.
LAND BASED GAMBLING
Despite the size of the illegal market, today Colombia offers a wide array of legal gaming options. Land-based lotteries, bingo, sports books and casino gambling are all lawful. Today there are an estimated 3,200 (mostly small scale) slot parlours, bingos and casinos in the country which are licensed in pretty much along the same lines by the gambling board. Te number of slots has grown to around 97,000 machines, an increase of 16 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2021. Meanwhile thanks to the efforts of the gaming board the number of illegal gambling machines has decreased to around 50,000 compared to 70,000 in 2018.
Te increase in gaming establishments is down to a more favourable tax system as well. In April 2020 Congress approved the National Development Plan. As part of this plan the change in gaming rules did away with the presumptive income scheme rate which had until them meant that operators had to pay tax even if the
Coljuegos has experienced a
number of scandals of is own concerning alleged irregularities over the issuing of gaming licences. Indeed in 2017 allegedly corrupt officials were found to be handing out casino licences for cash once again. This was aptly described in one newspaper of “like asking mice to watch over cheese.
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