COLOMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Juan Camilo Carrasco, Asensi Abogados
minimum monthly wage per year of operation (equivalent to approximately USD180,000); and • variable – a monthly variable rate applicable to land-based and online games.
relevant concession contract once the legal, financial and technical requirements have been fulfilled before Coljuegos. 6.2 B2B Licences (Suppliers, Software, Etc) The Colombian regulations do not state any require- ments for B2B business; however, online operators must report all signed agreements with suppliers in order to operate under their licence. The confidential- ity agreements between operators and providers are not enforceable against the regulator. 6.3 Affiliates Affiliates are not regulated, nor mentioned in the gam- ing regulation. Notwithstanding, an operator holding a concession contract must guarantee that the terms and conditions – and compliance with the law – are respected with the registered players. B2C providers are liable for any compliance issues with their players. 6.4 White Labels White-label provision is not regulated, and the regu- lator has not provided an official position regarding white labels yet. Gaming services should only be per- formed by a concession holder. Nonetheless, if the white-label firm only performs marketing activity and both registration and operations fall on the side of the operator that holds the concession, this should be permitted. 6.5 Technical Measures Colombia has a blacklisting regime whereby the police identify illegal websites offering online betting and report them to the Ministry of Technology and Com- munications, which orders the relevant ISP block- ing. Once the regulation was published, Coljuegos announced that it was introducing ISP blocking to all operators that had not requested an authorisation to operate in Colombia. Currently, Coljuegos has presented to the authorised operators a new AI tool that will help the regulator block illegal market players in the industry. Financial Requirements In addition to the provisions of Resolution 20161200025334, which regulates the financial requirements for applying for an online gambling
5. Land-Based Gambling 5.1 Premises Licensing
For their operation, premises will require prior approval from the mayor of the city or municipality in which they are to be situated, according to the conditions stated in the territorial planning decree with regard to land use, location and minimum distance from educational institutions. Changes in the location of the operating room must also have prior approval and meet the con- ditions established by the gaming regulations. In the case of local games and lotteries, a favourable report from the local or provincial authority is required. Each municipality may have its own regulations con- cerning the necessary distance from schools, hospi- tals, public libraries, etc. The licensing regime for online gaming (Agreement 8 of 2020 and its regulatory documents, and Resolu- tions 20161200025334 of 2016, 20201000008294 of 2020 and 20231200017474 of 2023) sets out the con- ditions required for offering internet-operated games under the category of novelty games. The operation of new games through third parties must be carried out by legal persons who have con- cession contracts with Coljuegos, under: • the terms defined by the specific legal framework for games of chance; • the General Statute for Public Tenders in Public Government; and • the regulatory norms for such statutes (or any pro- vision modifying or replacing them). 6. Online Gambling 6.1 B2C Licences The regulation states that any company willing to com- mercialise and offer a gaming portfolio must sign the
129 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook