Much like any other gambling market across the world, Colombia’s online gambling industry continues to grow. And with a wider market for bettors, more and more are learning about becoming a bookie. And if you are using a good betting software solution, then your career will be easier to manage.

Colombia’s online gambling industry has grown up to two-thirds in the first half of the year alone. The Coljuegos, which is the regulatory body for gambling in Colombia, has released a report that explains the growth of the market.

“The gambling market in Colombia represented a watershed for the industry in the region, thanks to Coljuegos, the country’s gaming authority, the regulatory process’ evolution, which began with an interconnection system for slot machines and peaked with the country’s big break in 2016, the implementation of Agreement 4, which regulates online gambling,” Didier explained. Colombia about to expand online gambling market News on 14 Nov 2017 New proposals by the Colombian regulator Coljuegos could if approved see a significant expansion in the nation’s online gambling market, embracing live dealer casino action, player-sharing deals, virtual sports and racing products, keno games and exchange betting.

Online Gambling Industry

According to the report, there is a 63% rise compared to last year in terms of the government’s part of the revenue from online gambling. The revenue for the government is at $8.9 million. This is higher than even Coljuego’s revenue growth, which is at 13% overall. Of course, bingo and casino are the largest contributors, while online gambling is still a small piece of the market at 9.4%.

Back in 2016, Colombia made history as the first country in South America to legalize and regulate online betting. The licenses for local operators were given in 2017. So far, there are 17 online operators in the country. As for online licensees, there are now 2.5 million customer account, which is far from 1.7 million last year. The country’s population is 50 million.

Colombia Gambling Markets

Following the footsteps of Colombia, neighboring countries are also catching up to the industry. Brazil has recently opened a consultation to the public about the matter of regulations on online gambling. While in Argentina, the government is currently vetting applicants for their slots for online gambling licenses.

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On the other hand, if gambling is legal and regulated, players are given consumer protection rights, and some issues, such as gambling addiction, can be addressed. That’s why the legislators in Colombia decided to take the gambling ship’s rudder in the country and create a legislative framework that would make everyone happy.

This project has been underway for several years, and gambling has become one of the factors that contribute to the overall growth of the country. Although it’s small compared to some other industries, it has a huge potential, and it created thousands of jobs in Colombia. A country that had been the epicentre of drug-trafficking, political unrest, and overall turmoil, emerged as a role model in South America regarding some industries, including gambling where the lawmakers managed to set a cornerstone for further development.

Alberto Carrasquilla, Finance Minister of Colombia, stated that the gambling industry contributed to his country’s GDP with $460 million in 2019, which is about 0.2% of the total GDP. The tax money was distributed to improve other areas of the country, with $170 million attributed to health, science, and technology sectors.

Moreover, Carrasquilla stated that the gambling sector employed a lot of people in Colombia. In 2019 alone, there were 111,000 job openings. According to him, whenever the country sees such an increase in employees in a single year, that’s always a great thing for the economy and a sign of huge progress.

Colombia Gambling Market Size

Financial Benefits for the Gambling Sector

Despite being widely successful, the country’s gambling sector suffered some losses during 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The government of Colombia decided to provide a financial boost to the industry, stating that it has been one of the hardest-hit sectors in the country.

Finally, Carrasquilla said that the country had done its best to keep the industry clean. He brought up the fact that all operators in the country were actively engaged in keeping illicit activity at bay, helping the country achieve ‘all international standards in the anti-money laundering area’.

Colombia Gambling Marketing

The country continues to expand its gambling industry as planned, despite the obstacles on the way. The sports are returning, and Colombians are big sports fans who enjoy sports betting. Therefore, it is expected that the sports gambling revenue will return to normal as well and contribute to the recovery process of the gambling industry.

Online Gambling in Colombia

Apart from regulating the land-based gambling market, Coljuegos, the main regulatory body of Colombia, has also paid attention to online gaming. In fact, the Latin American country has become the first one on the continent to have a fully-regulated online gambling industry. It became a significant milestone for further development of this type of entertainment in the area. Bogota became the epicentre of online gambling, as it is home to the expo that takes place annually and attracts all the big names of the industry.

Coljuegos made the important decision in November 2017, when they issued a decree that essentially allowed live casino games, as well as RNG titles. Therefore, casinos in the country need to apply for a licence in order to offer online gambling products to Colombian players.