Colombia Continues Illegal Gambling Crackdown

Colombian nationwide efforts to combat unlicensed gambling included operations in the densely populated province of Antioquia. (Image: Robert Harding / Alamy)

The gambling regulator for the South American nation of Colombia has destroyed more than 2,000 items earlier seized as part of its continuing state-wide crackdown against illegal operations. 

Home to almost 53 million people, Colombia legalized a range of land-based casinos and other gambling activities in 1943 before passing legislation some 73 years later to decriminalize the provision of iGaming entertainment. The country today hosts over 600 small casinos and slot parlors, while its citizens can also remotely enjoy online casino and sports betting action via 15 licensed domains.

Determined Demolition 

The nation’s Coljuegos regulator revealed the recently destroyed items had an aggregate value of approximately $106,200 and included slot machines, roulette wheels, and computer monitors, as well as chairs, bingo boards, and ticket dispensers. The state-run body moreover explained these articles were found to have been utilized by unlicensed operations that could have generated as much as $18,700 annually for the country’s insurance-based health system. 

In an official release, Coljuegos disclosed it seized 190 of the now-destroyed items in 2022, with an additional 1,852 pieces having been confiscated since October. The body went on to assert this action is ‘part of the frontal fight against illegality strategy’ and took the total number of offending articles it has confiscated and smashed only this year up to 7,382.

Fresh Leadership

Gustavo Petro was elected as the 34th President of Colombia in August of 2022 after campaigning for sweeping reforms to his nation’s policies on gambling tax. The former economist subsequently named prominent local lawyer Marco Emilio Hincapié to serve as the latest President of Coljuegos on a promise of bringing stability to an organization that had experienced four separate bosses in just eight years.

“When we arrived in office, we found more than 6,000 items that had been stored in warehouses for years,” Hincapié said. “In addition to destroying this inventory, we are already destroying the machines we have seized during this administration.”

Ambitious Aim

A former general manager for the Bogota lottery, Hincapié, divulged the now-destroyed items were confiscated from sites around the country, including in the highly populated provinces of Antioquia, Cundinamarca, and Atlántico. Coljuegos will be looking to continue its crackdown on illicit gambling venues ‘in the coming days’ in hopes of ‘hitting hard those who operate betting without paying health taxes’.

“For the first time, Coljuegos is attacking hotbeds of illegality in areas where there was previously no control,” Hincapié said. “This will allow us to maintain the logistical and operational capacity to continue carrying out control actions in the country.”