The government of Colombia enjoyed a record year for gaming revenue collections in 2018, and the country’s top regulator attributes the gains in part to a nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling.
Revenue from licensing and rights fees totaled 574 billion Colombian pesos (US$184.5 million), the government’s industry overseer, Coljuegos, reported.
It was an increase of almost 10 percent over 2017, and most of it𑁋COP345 billion, representing 60 percent of collections𑁋was generated by casinos and bingo halls.
Record sales of the Superastro lottery contributed significantly as well. The game reported a 20 percent increase in revenue, providing COP78.98 billion for the country’s national health service.
Collections also benefited from an increase in the number of online gaming licenses from six in 2017 to 16 last year, boosting the government’s take to COP37.91 billion.
It helped that the government has begun to see the results of an ongoing clampdown on the illegal market, according Coljuegos President Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo.
In December, he reported the seizure of more than 2,800 black market machine games over the course of the year and the successful blocking, in conjunction with law enforcement and other government agencies, of more than 2,600 unlicensed online betting sites.
