Latin America countries compete with European regulated markets to provide gambling operators and clients with legislation that creates a friendly environment for casino games. In this context, Coljuegos, the national authority for regulating online casino games in Colombia, published on its website multiple agreements that create a welcoming landscape for investors and provide Colombians with a safe gambling environment.
South America is home to over 427 million people, and around 75% of them are eligible to gamble, so it’s no wonder that operators consider the region a target audience for online gaming. Colombia is the first Latin American country to create an online gambling act that established the procedures and regulations online gambling entities must follow in order to function legally in the country. The other South American countries have recently started to watch in the same direction and follow its example because they observed the benefits Colombia has for establishing a safe environment for gamblers. The current trend sees South American states exploring ways to take advantage of the gaming market, and it doesn’t look like they’ll lose momentum for now.
After Colombia introduced the eGaming Act in 2016, fully regulating online gambling, Coljuegos also created its first online gaming license in June 2017, encouraging its neighbours to follow its example. Since introducing the regulatory framework, the country has been praised for its openness, especially for raising funds. The Coljuegos donates all the money it gathers from gambling operators (land-based and online) to the national healthcare system. This way, the citizens are encouraged to engage in casino games like blackjack and poker, knowing that part of the cash they pay gets back to them in the form of improvements in the social services.
In the rear of creating a secure landscape for gambling, the Colombian government shutdown over 3000 illegal gambling premises that failed to meet the new regulations, offering the citizens access to a legalised and safe system. Coljuegos ran the operation to eliminate all illegal operators. It collaborated with the federal police department and introduced long sentences and tough penalties for offenders to discourage them from trying to trick the system. However, e-gaming regulations encourage operators to legalise their activities in Colombia because they allow casinos to legalise all their services through a single application. They don’t need to submit multiple applications for each best casino games online (“mejores juegos de casino online“), they can obtain a license for all of them by submitting a single request.
Colombia is a trendsetter in the gambling industry in Latin America and one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide, with over 60% of adults interested in a sort of game-like Blackjack. The rest of Latin American countries aren’t as quick as Colombia, but they follow the example as sleeping giants because the public is highly interested in what the industry has to offer, but they move slowly towards progress.
However, the movement is steady, and it’s encouraging to see them following Colombia’s steps. Argentina is the only country with considerable potential to follow Colombia’s example because the country has recently started to make efforts towards adopting a set of regulations that legalise the online gambling sector. At present, Buenos Aires has a functioning decree that establishes online betting and gambling legal activities until. The decree requires for gambling operators offering slots (so called “operadoras de juegos de azar que ofrecen slots” in Spanish) and other gambling games to apply for a license to work in Buenos Aires
What games can Colombian players find in an online casino?
Now that online gambling is legal in Colombia, more and more people are pursuing their hobbies and engaging in casino games. If you want to know what games you can choose from when accessing a website, here is the list with the most popular ones.
Bingo – traditional bingo can be played in land-based and online casinos. Almost all casino operators have bingo rooms for different game variations, though there are no solely bingo dedicated casinos. Alongside the local casinos that offer access to bingo, you can also register on an offshore website that accepts players from Colombia.
Poker – as expected, poker is one of the most popular table games worldwide, and Colombian players are enjoy playing it. The Colombian gambling laws regulate games of chance, and therefore online and offline casinos can welcome gamblers who want to try their luck. Poker and blackjack are usually considered casino games requiring skills and knowledge, not merely luck, like slots. But if you’re a beginner who doesn’t know what the activity involves and want to have a taste of the game, you can deposit a small amount in an online account and count on your luck not to lose it. Poker games in Colombia are available in licensed casinos to ensure players that they can gamble in a protected environment.
Sports betting – this gambling activity is legal in Colombia, but only a limited number of operators offer it, since only a few of them signed agreements with the local authorities. The most popular form of sports betting is horse racing. Some would find it surprising because many people are known as football enthusiasts. However, if you don’t want to bet with one of the local operators, you can register with internationally run casinos that accept registrations from Colombia.
Slots – some find it difficult to imagine how slots would function in an online environment, but Internet-based casinos show that they can take every gambling game from the real world and convert it to cater to online players’ needs. For the online version of slots, players need to decide if they prefer the 3-reeled, 5-reeled, or multi-reel slots games. Similarly to slot games in a land-based facility, slots are the easiest to play games in online casinos. However, each slot game has unique rules, strategies, and odds, and it’s best to check them before engaging in a game.
Conclusion
Colombia is an example to follow if you’re interested in online gambling because it shows that a country can create a safe and welcoming environment for both operators and players with well-crafted regulations.