Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos has updated the country’s gambling legislation to allow operators to take wagers on animated events, paving the way for the launch of regulated virtual sports in the jurisdiction.
Following amendments to country’s 2016 Gambling Act, animated graphics that represent sporting events, or collections of animated scenes that represent real sporting events, will be regulated under the umbrella of “virtual games”.
Punters will not be allowed to make live or in-game bets on virtual events, however, and the new virtual games rules will not apply to animated depictions of lottery or other “numerical” games.
Since becoming the first South American country to regulate online gambling in 2016, Colombia has been seen a regulatory pioneer in the region and a potential model for other Latin American jurisdictions.
The latest move from Coljuegos broadens the remit of online operators in Colombia even further, enabling online operators to provide a wide range of products including sportsbetting, poker, blackjack, roulette, slots, bingo and virtual games.
Commenting on the news in a statement, Evert Montero Cárdenas, CEO of the Colombian Federation of Luck and Chance Game Entrepreneurs (Fecoljuegos), said he welcomed the fact that operators would now be able to offer an even broader selection of games to their customers.
Now, he said, the association would be calling on Coljuegos to move to regulate live casino in a similar way.
Such a move would “potentially allow, in addition to growth for online operators and the generation of significant contributions to the country, opportunities in technological development and innovation,” he said.
