Colombia affirms itself as the leader of the game at the GAT Expo
The sector's recovery after the pandemic is one of the most successful in the world. With a solid regulation for a decade, Colombia stands as the industry example for other Latin American markets. At this year's GAT Expo, the virtues of this model were highlighted.
Expo GAT 2022 was a real success. ©djedj/Pixabay
While more countries are turning to the regulatory trend in Latin America, the eyes are on Colombia. The country has legislation that includes online gambling since 2012 , and an entity in charge of supervising the activity, Coljuegos. In the framework of the GAT (Gaming & Technology) Expo of Cartagena de Indias, held between March 15 and 17, the leaders of the sector agreed that Colombia is the reference point for the continent.
So much so that the Latin American countries that are updating their gambling legislations analyze the case of Colombia to clarify the issue. The case gives all the signs of the success to which joint work between the private sector and the public area can lead. Through the game control services , numerous measures have been taken that focus on social commitment and the fight against clandestine gambling.
It is no coincidence that the GAT Expo of 2022 has been held in the country, which has become a mandatory meeting point for regional industry authorities . Within the framework of the event, Coljuegos presented the figures of the sector. The pace of recovery since the pandemic was quite accelerated, with a growth rate of 31%, which as a whole exceeds 45,000 million Colombian pesos (slightly more than US $11,722 million).
The rise of the online game it was the most significant that the authorities could highlight. This is an increase of 179% between 2019 and 2021, which is symptomatic of the behavior of the gaming markets at a global level. The digital sector is expected to get stronger and stronger, and could surpass the volume of land-based betting by 2026. In Colombia, 74.7% of the online market corresponds to sports betting, followed by casinos (34.11%) and live casinos (11%).
Regarding the face-to-face game, the last quarter of 2021 reached $170,000 million (US $44.3 million). This represents an 11% growth compared to the same period of 2019 .
The organization of GAT Expo 2022, a historic event
This year's Gaming & Technology Expo was a real success, with more than 1,000 participants from 25 different countries visiting the Cartagena de Indias Event Center during the 3 days of the fair. There was room for 14 specialized conferences, from the academic, commercial and business fields , so that all interested parties had their moment of expression and encounter.
Also, 11 live tournaments took place, where the developers showed their latest releases. The exhibition consisted of 54 booths where industry representatives were able to establish ties with agents in related fields and show their products. There were also business meetings to strengthen corporate ties in the region.
The attendance represented a real record, especially after two years in which the GAT Expo could not be developed in a mega-event mode. Among the companies that participated were InterBlock, R. Franco, Novomatic and Zitro, as well as exponents of the online category such as BMM, Pragmatic Play, BetConstruct and BetPlay, among others. Industry leaders pointed out the business advantages for integration in fairs of this type, which give a sense of regional unity to the sector.
Legislative regulation: a pending account in Latin America
One of the central themes of the GAT Expo was the progress of regulations in the countries of the region . The game is quite behind in legal matters, especially its online modality. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more markets have been opened, but the protocols are only fully incorporated in Colombia, where there are lists of approved establishments .
On the second day of the exhibition, a International Business and Regulatory Roundtable organized by V&I Consultores Legales and Fecoljuegos. The most important issues on the business agenda related to the laws on the continent were raised there. The conference was attended by interested parties from Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru and Brazil, among other countries.
In Argentina, gambling is in charge of the provincial jurisdictions; during 2021, most of the territory approved gambling laws that include the online modality. Among them, the two most important markets: the City and the Province of Buenos Aires . In Brazil, the half-sanction that the gaming law received awaits the treatment of the Senate. Peru already has a preliminary project that involves the activity of online operators. Chile and Uruguay seem to be ready to address the issue in the course of 2022. Colombia stands firm as the model of the continent , with a central entity in charge of the supervision of the service.
