Columbia Online Casino

Colombia is rightly considered a pioneer of online gambling in Latin America. This is the first country in the region to introduce a full-fledged system for regulating gambling on the Internet, including online casinos, poker and sports betting. Thanks to transparent legislation and modern supervision, Colombia has become a center of attraction for international operators and investors in the iGaming sphere.

Legislation and regulation

Gambling in Colombia is regulated by law Ley 643 (2001), which defined a state monopoly on gambling activity. The industry is controlled by Coljuegos, an independent state regulator created in 2011 to replace the old ETESA body.

Coljuegos is responsible for:

licensing of online and offline operators;
supervision of payments, RNG and responsible gambling;
the fight against illegal sites;
collection of taxes and contributions to social funds.

In 2016, Law No. 1753 (Decreto 613) was passed, legalizing online gambling in Colombia. From that moment on, the country became the first in the region to officially allow online casinos, poker and betting.

Licensing and taxation

Coljuegos issues licenses for a period of 5 years.

To obtain them, the operator must:

register a legal entity in Colombia;
provide financial guarantees (deposit or payment insurance);
Pass platform and random number generator (RNG) certification
have a technical server in the country;
comply with responsible gaming and data protection standards (as per Ley 1581).

Taxation:

15% GGR (gross gaming revenue);
an additional 1% contribution to the Health Fund (Fondo de Salud);
license fee when obtaining permission.

Coljuegos is actively fighting illegal sites, with more than 6,000 unlicensed offshore domains blocked since 2017.

Legal online operators

To date, there are more than 20 officially licensed online gambling operators registered in Colombia.

Among them:

BetPlay. co - the largest national platform, sponsor of the football league Dimayor;
WPlay. co is one of the first operators to be licensed by Coljuegos;
RushBet. co, Codere. co, Zamba. co, Yajuego. co, BetAlfa. co, MozzartBet. co, Sportium. co;
Betsson international brands, 888casino, Betfair, operating under Colombian licenses.

Many operators cooperate with major football clubs (Atlético Nacional, América de Cali, Millonarios) and actively promote responsible play.

Land casinos and offline gambling

Colombia has a well-developed network of land-based casinos and arcades licensed by Coljuegos.

Main formats:

slot machines and video slots;
roulette, poker, blackjack, baccarat;
bingo and lotteries;
sweepstakes and sports betting.

The largest gambling operators in the country:

Casino Hollywood, Casino Rio, Casino Caribe, Casino Broadway, Casino Mirage;
National Lottery Baloto, valid since 2001.

The total offline sector is estimated at more than $1.2 billion a year, and the entire gambling industry of the country provides tens of thousands of jobs.

Popular games and player preferences

Colombians are heavily involved in gambling, especially online.

Payment systems and cryptocurrencies

Colombia's national currency is the peso (COP).

Coljuegos strictly regulates payment methods to eliminate money laundering.

Main payment methods:

Visa and MasterCard bank cards;
e-wallets PayU, Efecty, Daviplata, Nequi, PSE;
AstroPay prepaid cards;
MuchBetter, Skrill, Neteller;
cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Tether, Ethereum) are not yet licensed, but are actively used on international sites.

Colombia is gradually preparing a legislative framework for the introduction of fintech and crypto payments in iGaming.

Economic importance

The gambling industry is an important source of income for the country.

According to Coljuegos:

annual gambling revenues exceed 2.5 trillion Colombian pesos (about $600 million);
more than 60% of these funds go to the health care system;
the industry provides more than 120,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

Online gambling provides up to 30% of the total market, which makes it a key area for the growth of the entertainment economy.

Challenges and challenges

Despite its success, the industry faces a number of challenges:

the need to further combat illegal sites;
controlling underage play;
regulation of cryptocurrencies and NFT gambling;
adaptation of legislation for new technologies (VR, Web3).

Coljuegos is already preparing updated standards for digital operators and strengthening the certification system.

Development prospects

Colombia continues to strengthen its position as a regional leader in the iGaming industry.

In the coming years, the following are expected:

implementation of a single monitoring platform for all operators;
licensing of cryptocasino and virtual currencies;
expansion of cooperation with international regulators (Malta Gaming Authority, UKGC);
support for the export of IT services and gambling technologies.

Thanks to an innovative approach, transparent rules and government support, Colombia has become a model of a regulated gambling market not only for South America, but for the entire Spanish-speaking world.

It demonstrates that legal gambling can be profitable, protect players and develop the economy at the same time.