Confirmation of the
Last October, Colombia became the first Latin American jurisdiction to approve online gambling legislation. Online licensees will pay 15% tax on their gross gaming revenue and annual fees of roughly US$ 200 thousand.
Speaking at the Juegos Miami conference earlier this month, Coljuegos’ head of new business Liliana Viveros announced that the regulator had received over 60 inquiries from interested applicants, and Coljuegos expected seven online licensees to have launched their locally licensed sites by the end of 2017.
Other local operators are expected to join Wplay.co in short order. Recent weeks have seen local lottery and betting operator Corredor Empresarial ink online gambling technology deals with suppliers R Franco Digital and Kambi Sports Solutions.
Coljuegos President, Juan Perez Hidalgo said: "We want more operators to obtain authorisation from Coljuegos to achieve a strong sector and tune in with the new technologies.”
Analysts believe the Columbian online gaming market could be worth as much as US$ 8 billion in revenue in its first year.
"With this initiative we seek greater resources for the health of Colombians, expanding the portfolio of games through innovative tools and tuning with the trend towards greater use of new technologies in the world. We are aware that the fight against illegality is not an easy task and less so with regard to technological platforms. That is why we are working in an articulated way with the National Police and the Ministry of Defence,” Hidalgo concluded.
