President of Coljuegos, Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo pointed out that this accomplishment is part of a legality strategy outlined by Colombia's gambling sector, named “Legal gambling is a win for Colombians' health”, which seeks to encourage Colombian players to bet only in licensed websites. “This control has contributed to the success of the 14 online operators authorized by Coljuegos to date, which translates into greater resources for Colombia's health system,” Juan Pérez Hidalgo assured.
It is worth noting that Colombia is the first country in the Americas to regulate online gambling. Currently, there are 14 licensed websites offering legal gambling: wplay.co, betplay.com.co, colbet.co, zamba.co, codere.com.co, mijugada.co, masgol.co, luckia.co, sportium.com.co, rushbet.co, aquijuego.co, apuestalo.co and the newest additions, betalfa.co and rivalo.co.
“In accordance with the latest statistics released as of July 2018, there are 997 thousand registered accounts in the different licensed online operators. Online gambling licensing rights generated 16,593 Colombian pesos in revenue as of July 2018, and during their first year in operations, the online platforms raised 21,955 M Colombian pesos, Coljuegos’ president said.
“We have to remind Colombian players, especially those who are being offered the exploitation of illegal gambling, that the operation of unauthorized platforms constitutes a crime punished by prison sentences between 6 and 8 years, and fines of up to 234.372.000 Colombian pesos, payable by each operator,” he assured.
Finally, Coljuegos explained that, by the end of 2018, they expect to have 17 licensed online operators in the country, due to the great interest of the private sector in the market.