"It is essential to establish regulations for online gambling in Colombia"

The company has presence in eight countries in Europe and Latin America, where it employs more than 17,600 people and is the only Spanish company in the gaming industry listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange. In 2010, it tried to leave Colombia’s market, avoiding a regulatory framework that did not protect the business against the illegal actions of competitors. Additionally, the VAT increase for this sector, 5 to 16%, was pulling them out of the country. Now, according to Navarro, the situation has changed. "The strengthening of standards, the country's good macroeconomic performance and the business model transformation made us change our decision to leave."

It is part of having regained investor confidence in the country. During 2011, our investments will exceed us$ 15 million, through the expansion of Crown brand offer, now with five venues from the original two. We also transformed and expanded two ancient rooms of our Mundo Fortuna brand to Crown Casinos. In addition, the novelty is that we will launch a new room in the north of Bogota, with Las Vegas style. And we also continue investing in the transformation to game exclusive formats in our traditional business unit and developing our Stars Casino Games and Fantasia Royal brands.

The Codere group, including the eight countries where we operate, generated revenues of EUR 1,127 million and operating EBITDA of 241 million Euros. In Colombia, in the same period, had gross revenues of EUR 44.7 million and EBITDA of 5.4 million Euros. For 2011, we expect EBITDA to grow more than 25%.

Codere began its international expansion process in Colombia 25 years ago, generating employment and health resources. But the fragility of the regulatory framework and the VAT increase from 5% to 16% adopted in 2010, which applies only to legal operators, was affecting us.

In that way, the growth of illegality without state control created an economic imbalance to our business. The situtation forced us to wonder if it was viable working in Colombia.

From the second half of 2010, the Government has taken decisions that showed its determination to strengthen the regulatory framework, which revives our optimism to continue betting on our operations in the country.

Fundamentally, the Act 1393 of 2010, which creates tools to control illegality by incorporating non-bailable prosecution and bigger economic sanctions and inability to contract with the State to illegal operators.

Similarly, the fact of transfering the control and collection to Dian, beginning in the decision Etesa (to settle a territorial company for health), which had unsuccessfully been exercising the gaming control.

Additionally, Act 1444 of 2011, which granted extraordinary powers to the President to change Public Administration Structure, grants the bases to create a new institutional framework, which should rule the future of games located in Colombia, an activity that only in the country reaches 1.5% of GDP.

It is essential to drive regulations for online gambling in Colombia, which is one of the industry sectors with the greatest social and economic projection and that is already being regulated in other markets.