COLOMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Juan Camilo Carrasco, Asensi Abogados
• public order; and • the prevention of addictive behaviour, fraud and money laundering. 9.2 Definition of Advertising Law 1480 of 2011 defines “advertising” in Article 5 as “any form and content of communication whose purpose is to influence consumption decisions” 9.3 Key Legal, Regulatory and Licensing Provisions In Colombia, all commercial entities should comply with the Consumer Protection Statute, which man- dates the following: • the protection of consumers against risks to their health and safety; • the access of consumers to adequate information; • the education of the consumer; • the freedom to establish consumer organisations and the opportunity for those organisations to make their opinions heard in the decision-making processes that affect them; and • special protection for children and adolescents, as consumers, by the provisions of the Childhood and Adolescence Code. Since 2019, Coljuegos has issued a brand and logo manual stating rules and conditions for marketing and advertising. 9.4 Restrictions on Advertising The Gambling Act sets forth the following limits on marketing and advertising: • no encouraging false expectations among players regarding gains; • no advertising designs or content addressed to minors; and • no advertising where minors might be present, regardless of the media used for its transmission. Also, the Gambling Act establishes a general provision containing criteria that operators must comply with at the time of conducting the marketing activities. For instance, the advertisement must: • warn about the risk of gambling addiction;
• include a message about responsible gambling; and • state that gambling activity is restricted to persons of legal age in Colombia (see 7.2 Gambling Man- agement Tools ). Other general marketing and advertising regulations in Colombia, in addition to the prohibition involving minors and false expectations, state that marketing activities cannot offend any religion and cannot go against good customs/manners. Additionally, the Advertising Resolution included new restrictions, as follows. • Limits on the use of brands over other operators – this is related to sponsored league names that have operators’ names. • Investment limitations on advertising, due to the amount of gaming duties (exploitation rights) paid during the previous year ‒ this means that the more one pays to the regulator, the more one is authorised to invest. The limits are measured in legal monthly salaries (LMSs). For 2025, 1 LMS = COP1.423.500million. • Surpassing these limits will expose the operator to fines of up to 100% of the amount in excess, and even to breach of the concession contract. • New operators will be allowed to invest up to 8 LMS (COP11,388 billion). This is equivalent to approximately USD2.9 million. • Operators will need to disclose an investment plan for advertising for the year to come, which cannot surpass the authorised range. • Sponsorship from authorised operators is limited only to professional sports teams. • Limits on how advertising should be promoted through social media, digital media and others ‒ this also includes concepts about responsible gambling and risk behaviours, without defining the scope of those elements. • Certain reporting obligations about safer gambling
measures are now included. 9.5 Sanctions/Penalties
Law 1480/2011 states that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce may impose sanctions for different types of violations of the Consumer Protection Statute, including:
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