During 2025, land-based gaming once again became the segment that contributed the most resources to the subsidized healthcare system in Colombia. With an estimated $378,268 billion transferred from monopoly revenues, bingo halls and casinos accounted for 39% of total revenue in the gambling industry.

The president of Coljuegos, Marco Emilio Hincapié, explained that the increase in revenue is mainly due to the entity’s efforts to combat illegality and to regulate the market.

“In 2024, localized gaming contributed $345.875 billion, almost $33 billion less than last year. This 9.3% increase in transfers to healthcare demonstrates that the industry continues to experience an excellent period under the current administration,” said Hincapié.

Similarly, the president of the entity explained that, through Virtual Sports Racing Betting (VSRB), it is expected that localized games will improve their offering and become more attractive to bettors.

It is worth noting that, to date, there are approximately 109,000 legal electronic slot machines operating in the country in more than 3700 authorized establishments.

“This increase in revenue would not have been possible without our relentless strategy against illegal gambling. In 2025 alone, we seized 3047 illegal gambling devices in 95 enforcement actions carried out in 15 departments: something never before seen in the state,” Hincapié stated.

He concluded: “We hope that this year, with strategies like the Machines for Peace, localized games will continue to increase their transfers for the health of the most needy Colombians.”

Coljuegos, the regulatory authority overseeing gambling sites in Colombia, has intensified its efforts to block illegal gambling websites. Coljuegos will now directly send requests to Internet Service Providers to block websites that operate online games without paying the respective royalties.

Coljuegos President Marco Emilio Hincapié said this strategy will be implemented based on Circular 017 of 2025, issued by the Ministry of ICT, which defined the guidelines and procedures for blocking websites dedicated to the exploitation, sale, payment, or advertising of unauthorized games of chance.

“From the Government of Change, we are working together to protect the gambling industry. After several roundtable discussions with the Ministry of Information and Communications (MINTIC), we were able to simplify the process of blocking illegal gambling websites,” Hincapié said.

The president of the entity highlighted that, to date, nearly 26,600 blocking orders have been issued to unauthorized betting sites.

“With this new procedure, we hope to block illegal platforms more quickly. We will no longer have to submit requests to different entities; instead, we will be able to order blocks directly from internet providers,” Hincapié said.

This Ministry of Information and Communications (MINTIC) measure is issued in compliance with Decree 0175 of 2025, which adopted tax measures due to the state of internal unrest declared by the National Government.

“In addition to fighting illegal operators, our goal is to protect resources for peace and health, as well as provide greater safeguards for the 14 authorized operators in the country,” Hincapié added.

Kaizen Gaming Colombia, owner of the Betano.co brand, was authorized by Coljuegos to operate online betting in the country. With this new operator, there are now 16 web platforms that have the approval of the entity to market games of chance online.

“We continue to strengthen the online gaming industry. We hope that, with the entry of this new operator, we can continue to increase transfers for the health of Colombians. At this time, the platform is already operating for the betting public,” said Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Coljuegos.

The entity is also in the process of authorizing an additional operator called Bingo Casino, which is expected to begin offering bets in the coming weeks.

It is worth mentioning that, by 2024, it is estimated that online betting portals will pay around $419,527 million to Coljuegos for exploitation rights, which represents an increase of 31% compared to the same period in 2023. All of these resources are transferred to the health system.

“We are seeing that online betting is a sector of the economy that has driven the growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. That is why we are working to make the market even more attractive and to provide more options to bettors,” said the president.

According to financial projections, this new operator is expected to pay Coljuegos around $21.513 billion over the next five years for operating rights and administration costs, resources that can be transferred to subsidize health and scientific research.