Colombia Will Have the First Public Responsible Gaming Policy in Latin America

• With this public policy, Coljuegos seeks to protect players, strengthen the sector and provide inputs for mental health care.
• The document with the guidelines will continue under construction during 2024.

Bogotá DC, Colombia  (February 15, 2024) — To promote informed decision-making by players in the country, the company that manages the gambling monopoly is advancing in the structuring of public policy on responsible gambling, the first of its kind in Latin America.

According to the president of Coljuegos, Marco Emilio Hincapié, the entity’s objective is to promote a culture of responsible betting and raise awareness among players about the risks associated with problem gambling.

“At the entity, we have led different working groups with operators to define the guidelines that allow us, on the one hand, to raise awareness about the possible negative effects of compulsive gambling, and, on the other hand, implement measures such as betting limits, messages warning and self-exclusion tools,” said the president.

And he added: “Fortunately, we have found full willingness on the part of the operators. The common purpose is to protect consumers, especially those who are most vulnerable, such as young people and people with gambling addiction problems.”

The announcement was made this Friday, February 16, during the commemoration of World Responsible Gaming Day, an event that included the participation of Mariela Huenchumilla Fritz, founding member of the International Alliance for Responsible Gaming and Corporate Manager of Responsible Gaming of the Sun Dreams Latam casinos, based in Chile.

Also participating in the meeting were Evert Montero Cárdenas, president of the Colombian Federation of Luck and Chance Games Entrepreneurs (Fecoljuegos); Juan Carlos Restrepo, president of Asojuegos; and Elizabeth Maya Cano, president of the National Corporation of Gambling Entrepreneurs (Cornazar).

For the rest, it is expected that, during 2024, Coljuegos and the unions will finish the preparation of the document that, among other things, will include guidelines with a public health focus, through which they seek to emphasize prevention, education and treatment of those who may have negative consequences for physical and mental health due to gambling.

Once finished, the document will be submitted for discussion in the Congress of the Republic for its respective feedback, approval and adoption.

SOURCE: Coljuegos