The agency highlighted the fact that this collection of revenue for gaming licensing rights saw a growth of 9% in the last year and since the creation of Coljuegos in 2012, had recorded an accumulated increase of more than 85%, as in 2012 the board collected US$89m.
“Today we can say that after almost seven years of being in operation, the work of each of Coljuegos employees, of all state entities that support and accompany the entity and also the development of an industry that contributes to the payment of taxes, the industry should be classified as a sector of the national economy,” Pérez said.
According to the official, one of the reasons behind increased revenue for the state was the clampdown on illegal gambling. This year the board has seized 2,813 illegal slot machines as well as a large haul of other illegal gambling equipment. It has also blocked, with the help of other government bodies, as many as 2,616 unauthorised online betting sites and now signed 16 pacts with regional governments in order to clampdown further and coordinate efforts on a national level.
“We must also highlight the development that the industry has generated in business terms and on the local economy. Currently there are more than 2,400 physical points of sale, covering 32 departments and in more than 380 municipalities, 30 percent of the points of sale of online games in the country are concentrated in Bogotá, Medellín and Bucaramanga,” Pérez Hidalgo said.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
