Casinos, bingo halls contributed 60 percent
Over the last six years, the gaming industry in Colombia has contributed more than $2.5 billion in taxes to help fund social services including health care, according to gaming regulator Coljuegos.
Coljuegos President Pérez Hidalgo says that kind of revenue proves the value of the industry to citizens. “We are reiterating to the country the message that Coljuegos established as its slogan: ‘Playing legal is betting on the health of Colombians.’ Games of luck and chance allowed us to reach the most important achievement: generate more resources for the health of Colombians.”
According to CDC Gaming Reports, casinos and bingo halls forked over the lion’s share of revenues, 60 percent or $1.5 billion, while the game Baloto-Revancha generated $663.5 million. The Superstar game generated $284.5 million and promotional games from private enterprises kicked in $23,478 million. In a single year, internet games generated a total of $16,475 million.
Hidalgo also pointed out that the industry has operated responsibly, cracking down on thousands of illegal machines during the period. More than 21,800 unlicensed games have been seized in the country, and 33 illegal operators have been arrested.
