Coljuegos has issued a number
of licences in recent months as the Colombian market continues to expand after it became the first jurisdiction in the Latin America region to formally approve online gambling back in October 2016.
Speaking to iGaming Business about continuing efforts to
enforce
regulation in Colombia, Hidalgo said he is keen for more companies to
obtain licences as a way of boosting not only local investment in
the
country
, but also investment from abroad.
In June of this year, Wplay.co secured the
first licence under new national laws in the country. The company has since struck up a partnership with Quickfire to offer a range of content from Microgaming to punters in Colombia.
Corredor Empresarial has also rolled out Betplay.com.co, while GAMING1 and Vicca Group have launched Zamba.co, while domestic operator Colbet last month acquired its own online
gambling licence.
The award
of licences has come as Coljuegos and the Colombian
government continue to work on clamping down on illegal gambling in the country, with ongoing efforts to
stop unauthorised and unlicensed companies from operating in Colombia.
Hidalgo said that he welcomes applications from countries all over the world and Coljuegos has already held talks
with
variety of businesses.
Earlier this year, the government published a list of 325 online operators that were offering gambling services to Colombian punters without a licence. Such has been the impact of the new licensing process that a number of major operators have withdrawn their services from the market so as not to breach new national laws.
Source: GMB / iGaming Business
