After Coljuegos launched a consultation document in December 2015, and following positive results obtained in Brazil, Argentina and Chile as a consequence of their push to regulate their own markets, Colombia is now very close to launching its new online gaming regulations.
The new regulations are to be released in May, after the Fadja tradeshow in Bogota.
The move is set to kick off a new era for legal gaming and sports betting, with BtoBet positioned to be a major part of it.
The new Colombian regulation will allow licensed online gambling operators to offer RNG casino games including slots, roulette, blackjack, baccarat and bingo, plus poker (cash games and tournaments). It would authorise sports betting (real and fantasy), with fixed-odds, parlay and exchange wagering all getting the green light. Live in-play betting would also be permissible. Operators would be required to pay up to 1% of GGR as an admin fee and tax rates on 15% of the GGR or 17% of the Stakes. The draft stipulates that licensed operators “will additionally pay 811 minimum monthly statutory salaries, which will be cancelled during the twenty (20) working days of each year of operation”. (Calvinayre.com).
With the number of players and bettors in Colombia on the increase, the potential of the move is clear to see. 11,940,968 are over the age of 18 with nearly 60% of those, 7,044,429, actively playing and betting online.
The statistics become even more interesting once we consider the gaming/betting behaviour of all the other Latin American countries.
Table: Percentage of Colombian players over 18 years old (Coljuego)
24Win, a BtoBet client who will present its license request to Coljuegos, clearly understands the potential of the Latin American market. 24Win will be soon one of the operators to get the license for online gaming and to obtain the “.co” legal domain and the first operator employing BtoBet’s most advanced and innovative platform. All not Colombian licensed gambling domains will be considered to be operating illegally.
Commenting on the move, 24Win Marketing Director Alex Soteres and Operations Director Erik Tosca said “We chose BtoBet’s B Neuron Artificial Intelligent platform because it is perfectly suitable for the Colombian market, and for our expanding Latin American marketing plans: it is omni-channel, multi-currency, multi-jurisdictions and multi-brand. It enables us to manage our business content everywhere – that means our players will be able to bet through all mobile and online devices. It permits over 100 types of payment methods and includes all currencies, and it fits all the jurisdiction requirements of our target countries”.