Colombia's gambling regulatory body, Coljuegos, recently introduced a new regulation targeting the loophole in the importation of illegal slot machines. Starting from 2026, all electronic slot machines must be registered at a newly established Single Importer and Distributor Registry (RIC) before entering Colombia. This new regulation, named "Resolution No. 8594 of 2025," requires related businesses to complete registration within 45 days after the announcement of the resolution (January 26). Did you know? The fundamental purpose of this measure is to protect the substantial contributions of the gambling industry to the country's healthcare system—just in 2025, physical casinos contributed as much as 378.3 billion pesos (approximately 104.8 million USD) to the Colombian healthcare system, an increase of 9.3% compared to the previous year. Simply put, Coljuegos aims to ensure that every device entering the market is legally traceable through source control, thus safeguarding the nation's crucial medical revenue sources from erosion.
Content and Purpose of the New Registration System
This newly introduced registration system (RIC) is a collaborative product of Coljuegos and the Colombian National Tax and Customs Directorate. Its operational process and core objectives are very clear:
Mandatory Pre-registration: Importers and distributors must register before they can start operations.
Full Process Tracking: Within 10 days after customs clearance, importers must report the final destination of each machine to Coljuegos.
Protecting Core Interests: The primary goal is to curb the import of illegal slot machines, protect the authorized physical industry (approximately 109,000 legal machines nationwide) and the healthcare system that relies on gambling tax revenues.
The head of the regulatory body explicitly stated, considering that the import value of slot machines had already exceeded 22.5 million USD in 2024, the market is large, and it is imperative to strengthen supervision. According to observations from the PASA official website, this model of establishing a centralized registration database to enhance physical equipment supervision is one of the effective means for many jurisdictions to combat illegal markets.
Current Situation and Policy Comparison of the Colombian Market
To understand the urgency of this policy, one must look at two fundamental aspects of the Colombian gambling market. On one hand, the significant physical market: more than 3,700 authorized venues with nearly 110,000 slot machines form the industrial base, with 39% of its taxes flowing to the healthcare system. On the other hand, the twists in online gambling tax revenue: just as physical regulation tightens, the Colombian Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the emergency decree imposing a 19% VAT (Value Added Tax) on online gambling's total gross revenue (GGR) at the end of January. This means that online operators temporarily revert to the original tax rate of only 15% GGR tax, bringing uncertainty to the industry.
This "tightening offline, pausing online" situation reflects Colombia's complex regulatory balance in different gambling sub-sectors. However, Coljuegos's stance on protecting physical industry tax revenues to support public healthcare remains exceptionally firm.
From the case of Colombia, it is evident that the precision of gambling regulation is continuously improving, from online tax rates to offline equipment imports, all becoming tools for policy control. The core logic always revolves around securing legal income, combating illegal activities, and ensuring tax revenues are used for public welfare. For industry participants, it is crucial to closely monitor such compliance regulations at the equipment level. For more in-depth interpretations of global regulatory dynamics, continue to follow the PASA official website.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
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PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
