Colombia’s gambling regulator, Coljuegos, has awarded an igaming licence to sports betting exchange Betfair, valid in the jurisdiction for the next five years.
Coljuegos president César Augusto Valencia Galiano indicated that the licence allows Betfair to operate betting on real sporting and non-sporting events, online slots, roulette and blackjack.
The operator is expected to contribute COP$23bn (£4.8m/€5.4m/$6.5m) to the Colombian economy, the regulator said.
It also said that with the approval of the seventeenth authorised gambling website in the jurisdiction, the gaming sector in Colombia has proven itself to be an attractive opportunity for national and international businesses.
Growth in the industry is evidenced by the 3.8m player accounts now registered in the jurisdiction, it said, pointing out that online gaming has been live for close to 5 years having launched in May 2016.
Valencia Galiano emphasised the importance of gambling with regulated operators in order to ensure security, the proper handling of personal and financial information and the availability of responsible gambling resources.
“The portals authorised by Coljuegos guarantee the delivery of the prizes, the protection of data and the proper functioning of the platforms,” he said.
“We must remind all Colombians that operating unauthorised platforms leads to committing a crime for which penalties ranging from six to eight years in prison and fines of approximately COP$272m for each establishment can be incurred; point of sale, outlet or vendor.”
Betfair formed a partnership with sportsbook supplier BtoBet in October last year, to facilitate its entry into the Colombian market. The deal saw the operator combine its proprietary trading and risk management capabilities with BtoBet’s Neuron 3 platform.
Results published by Coljuegos in November showed that it had collected over COP$2.8tn in gaming taxes since 2015. Gaming taxes collected in the jurisdiction are used to support Colombia’s public healthcare system.
