Sports betting in Colombia: a booming industry

The regulation of the sports betting market in the country, Colombia being the first in Latin America to regulate this type of games with Agreement 04 of 2016, has allowed the sector and the entertainment industry to represent an important part of the economy of the national territory. Nowadays the fact of being a digital offer has caused it to have a greater diffusion and a greater reach among people.

As reported by Evert Montero Cárdenas, president of Fecoljuegos, "it's very good for the country and for games of chance sector because apart from becoming an international success story, it positions us as an industry committed to legality and with the economy of the country. Countries like Peru, Argentina, Brazil, have taken the Colombian regulation as a reference for the construction of the projects that will allow, the normalization of the online operation in their territories; investors from different parts of the world are waiting for the evolution of this type of game in America to open new markets."

In addition to having a control body that regulates and monitors as Coljuegos, there are also responsible game policies, support policies and contributions to the nation's public finances; factors that participants consider essential to play and participate with greater confidence.

“The games operated by the internet began operations in July 2017 and since then have exceeded all expectations. For the health of Colombians, we have transferred more than $ 68,417 million. We have already reached 17 authorized operators, which have reported a total of 2,505,934 accounts of players registered in the different pages and the delivery of prizes for $ 2.7 billion", comments Juan Pérez Hidalgo, president of Coljuegos.

By June 2018, the largest increase in players was generated thanks to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, achieving an average of 816,601 monthly registrations since the authorization of these games, reaching 1,155,780 accounts for that month and a growth in 258,381 records (May to June 2018), according to Coljuegos.

And for the case of the Copa America, and the industry in general, it is estimated for the first one, a growth of the sector in 10 percent, and for the second, 30 percent at the end of the year.