Key points:
- Kaizen Gaming Colombia-owned brand Betano.co will be able to operate online
- It is expected that the operator will pay Coljuegos P 21.5m over the next five years in operating rights
Colombian gaming authority Coljuegos has authorised Betano to begin online betting operations in the nation. The brand, owned by Kaizen Gaming Colombia, joins a list of 16 other online operators now authorised to operate in Colombia.
On the authorisation, Coljuegos President Marco Emilio Hincapié said: "We continue to strengthen the industry of games operated by the internet. We hope that, with the entry of this new operator, we can continue to increase transfers for the health of Colombians. At this time, the platform is already operating for the betting public.
"We are seeing that online betting is a sector of the economy that has driven the growth of the country's gross domestic product. For this reason, we are working to make the market even more attractive and to provide more options to bettors."
Indeed, the authority estimates that by the end of the year, online betting platforms will pay the authority P 419.5m ($95.5m) for their right to operate, up 31% year-on-year. It is also projected that Betano will pay Coljuegos a total of P 21.5m over the next five years for its right to operate, as well as administation expenses.
These funds are all transferred to the nation's health system, subsidising healthcare and funding scientific research.
There are 16 operators currently operating in Colombia. These include Betsson, Luckia, BetPlay, Bwin, Rivalo, Zamba and Stake.
Other operators in the nation include Novomatic, which brought its land-based Fazi Mega Pay roulette machines to Gran Casino Buenavista and Zamba Plaza del Parque in May.
The authorisation comes as neighbouring Brazil approaches regulation of its online gaming market. Several operators have already been approved ahead of time, including Stake, Fazi and Booming Games.
