"Colombia has a gaming industry of $13 billion a year"

"In the local gambling sector, there are bets of more than $13 billion a year, according to a study we did with the National Consultancy Center. Of that, for the state are about $1.6 brillion. The largest participation is by casinos and bingos," says Pérez Hidalgo, who adds that "from 2015 to 2016 Coljuegos revenues increased by 25%, which is the largest growth in history, precisely because of the behavior of casinos and bingos , the online connection that was already made, and for the behavior of the Baloto."

With the recently regulated online gaming sector, Colombia opens a new market. "The Aquila group met the requirements and is the first operator. Also, we started blocking unauthorized sites. There are about 80 of the 320 that we have identified as illegal. We want people to have legal platforms where there is a guarantee that the prize will be paid, because by betting on websites not authorized by Coljuegos, there is a risk of losing everything," explains Pérez Hidalgo.

Regarding the punishments that may have illegal operators, he says that there are penal and economic sanctions, because tax evasion is very important for the finances of the State. In the case of an electronic slot machine, there are penalties of up to 8 years in prison, in addition to the destruction and a charge of $18k for each one that is decommissioned. "Since the creation of Coljuegos we have found more than 12,000," said the president.

In what will be an expansion of the online gaming market, Pérez Hidalgo said that Coljuegos has "six or seven operators, national and foreign, who are being certified with international laboratories (it is one of the requirements) and we expect this year to be in operation."

Compared to what happens in other markets, one of the main incomes of developed nations like Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, are those of online gaming. Therefore, although in the first year they are expected to generate just $8 billion as a collection for the Colombian government, in about four years could equal the amount received today by casinos and bingos, according to the President of Coljuegos.

Perez is optimistic about the future of gambling, given a study that shows that 59% of adult people in the country like to play, but per capita spending per player is $75 to $ 80, compared to countries like Peru, where they are about 170 dollars.

Source: GMB / Portafolio.co