Coljuegos Will Share the Slot Machine Formalization Program with Ibagué Shopkeepers

The event will be supported by the Ibagué Chamber of Commerce, Fenalco, Gana Gana and the Tolima Lottery.

Bogotá DC, Colombia (September 16, 2024) — On September 20, Coljuegos will begin in Ibagué, Tolima, the territorial dissemination sessions of the strategy “Electronic slot machines for peace”, through which it is intended to legalize nearly 100,000 elements of games of chance that operate in the country without authorization.

 “We invite you this Friday to learn about our regulation of MET’s for peace, a strategy through which we will take an important step towards the formalization of popular economies that, today, are illegal,” said Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Coljuegos.

 The event will be held in the auditorium of the Ibagué Chamber of Commerce, located at Calle 10 #3-76, starting at 2:00 p.m. This social event will be aimed at merchants and shopkeepers in the capital of Tolima who have electronic slot machines in their businesses operating without authorization from Coljuegos.

 “We are implementing this strategy in accordance with the ‘Total Peace’ program of our president Gustavo Petro. With this, we seek to avoid criminal problems and sanctions for working families who, due to ignorance of the law, have illegal slot machines in their stores,” Hincapié added.

 Thus, through the “MET’S for peace”, those who have elements operating without authorization from Coljuegos will be able to associate until completing a minimum of 80 machines to request the respective authorization from the entity.

 It is important to mention that MET’S owners who decide to continue operating without authorization could be subject to fines amounting to 80 legal monthly minimum wages (about $104 million) for each of the machines.

Likewise, it should be noted that the operation of illegal games of chance constitutes a crime contemplated in article 312 of the Penal Code, which refers to the illicit exercise of monopolistic rent-seeking activity.

In addition to the above, there could be related crimes such as money laundering and illicit enrichment, as well as a possible process of forfeiture of the property where the illegal machines are operating.

SOURCE: Coljuegos.