Colombian regulator Coljuegos has published industry stats on the online gambling market from its launch 17 months ago. Key stats include:
Customers registered with the 16 licensed operators had reached 1,695,614 as of October 2018. The average number of new monthly customer registrations stands at 110,795 with June 2018 recording a total of 258,381 due to the FIFA World Cup.
Wagers since July 2017 amount to US$470 million, while taxes and fees collected by ColJuegos reached $33.7 billion (US$10.5 million).
July 2017 to December 2017 saw licensing fees amounting to $5,362,160,039 (US$1,670,446) from six operat41,217), generating an average monthly collection of $ 2,838,044,252 (US$884,121).
The Colombian health sector has benefited from the industry by $33,742,602,555 (US$ 10,797.632), while players have won US$427.5 million in prizes with a player rate of return of 83 percent.
“Colombia was the first country in the Americas to regulate these games, innovation in different platforms does not let up and it has consolidated itself as an important entertainment alternative for Colombians, and it is also making an important contribution to financing the health of Colombians,” Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo said.
Hidalgo said the government was gaining ground in stamping out illegal operators following a number of new pacts with regional Government’s and targeted investigations.
“One of the great challenges we have is to continue to work to achieve the greatest legality in the sector,” Hidalgo said.
“We have blocked, together with the Ministry of Information Technologies and the National Police’s Police Cybernetics Centre 1,805 websites that offered illegal gambling, and we continue to coordinate efforts with all State bodies to combat those who do not contribute to the health of Colombians.”