All 162 Colombian standards,
organised by theme

Article 336 of the 1991 Political Constitution treats gambling as a national rentistic monopoly (monopolio rentístico de arbitrio rentístico) whose net proceeds are earmarked for the public health system. No private party may operate any game of chance other than under a regime established by the framework law and a specific authorisation from the competent state body.

Ley 643 of 16 January 2001 is the framework statute for the gambling monopoly. It defines games of chance, classifies them (lotteries, permanent betting or chance, novel games, localised games and promotional games), fixes the destination of revenue to health and creates the rentas del monopolio (exploitation rights and administrative expenses).

Article 7 sets the framework under which the operation of games of chance may be carried out by third parties through concession contracts or authorisations. It establishes the maximum term of five years for concessions and links the contractual model used today by Coljuegos for online betting.

Decree-Law 4142 of 3 November 2011 created the Empresa Industrial y Comercial del Estado Administradora del Monopolio Rentístico de los Juegos de Suerte y Azar (Coljuegos) as a decentralised public enterprise attached to the Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público. Coljuegos exercises exploitation, administration, operation and regulatory issuance powers over the games of chance that are not assigned by law to a different entity (it does not administer lotteries or chance, which remain with departments and the Capital District).

Acuerdo 04 of 5 July 2016 approved the reglamento for the novel-game modality of juegos operados por internet (JOSAO). It is the foundational online-gambling instrument in Colombia. It sets the requirements for becoming an operator, the contractual concession model, the technical platform, player accounts, KYC, financial reserves and the player registry.

Article 9 fixes the contractual concession as the legal title under which operators carry out internet gambling. The contract is signed with Coljuegos and replaces the concept of a unilateral administrative licence; rights and duties of both parties are governed by the contract clauses and the surrounding regulation.

Article 10 sets the eligibility criteria for the applicant. The applicant must be a legal entity domiciled in Colombia or a foreign legal entity with a permanent branch in Colombia, with the corporate object including the exploitation of games of chance, and with shareholders and directors who meet the suitability tests.

Article 11 sets the term of the concession contract at up to five years, counted from the date Coljuegos approves the performance guarantee. The term cannot be shorter than three years. Renewal requires a new procedure and a fresh performance guarantee.

Article 13 requires the operator to constitute a performance guarantee (garantía única de cumplimiento) in favour of Coljuegos, through an insurance policy or a bank guarantee issued by an entity legally established in Colombia. For internet games the guarantee may be issued for annual periods and must be renewed at least three months before expiry; coverage extends until the liquidation of the contract.

Article 15 lists the documents to file with the application: certificate of incorporation, financial statements, technical platform documentation, business plan, KYC programme, AML programme (SIPLAFT or SARLAFT), responsible-gambling programme and proof of capital and guarantee.

Article 18 lists the types of games that may be offered: games whose outcome depends on a random number generator (casino, slots, poker, bingo, live games) and games whose outcome depends on a real event on which the player makes a prediction (sports and event betting). Subsequent Acuerdos expanded the catalogue (notably to include virtual games and additional novel modalities).

Acuerdo 04 of 2019 expanded the catalogue of authorised novel games operable by internet, including additional modalities such as virtual sports. The expansion responded to operator requests and to the consolidation of the online market after the first three years of JOSAO.

Acuerdo 02 of 2020 authorised the commercialisation of additional novel-game modalities through the internet channel and refined the conditions under which betting on real sporting and event outcomes can be offered. It also adjusted certain technical platform requirements.

Acuerdo 07 de 2024 of the Coljuegos Board of Directors approves the regulation of Keno as a novel game of chance, expanding the catalogue of national-competence modalities beyond the prior set fixed in Acuerdo 08 of 2020 and Acuerdo 03 of 2021. The instrument defines the game mechanics, the operator obligations, and the rentistic transfer rates of between 15% and 17% of gross gaming income for derechos de explotación plus 1% for gastos de administración. The Acuerdo was subsequently amended by Acuerdo 03 de 2025.

Acuerdo 09 de 2024 of 25 October 2024 substitutes Title 3 of Acuerdo 08 of 16 September 2020 and restates the regulation of the Super Astro novel game of chance. The Acuerdo strengthens technological follow-up and control of the operation to secure the rentistic transfer to health, prohibits minors from betting whether by terminal or internet, and excludes persons registered in the Coljuegos self-exclusion regime from participating.

Acuerdo 01 de 2024 of 8 February 2024 modifies paragraph 4 of article 2.5.2 of Acuerdo 03 of 2021, which had substituted Title 2 of Acuerdo 08 of 16 December 2020. The change fixes the minimum prize of the Revancha lottery at the value paid by the player for that lottery, set at COP 2,100, and was justified by the financial-sustainability analysis required to keep 50 per cent of Revancha gross income available for prizes.

Acuerdo 02 de 2025 of 8 May 2025 modifies Acuerdo 03 de 2021 and its successive amendments to update the Baloto and Revancha rule set. The Baloto bet value moves from COP 5,700 to COP 6,000 and the Revancha bet value from COP 2,100 to COP 3,000. The Operador Nacional de Juegos may add one additional weekly Baloto and Revancha draw on Mondays within two months of entry into force, and the minimum initial Baloto prize is raised from COP 1 billion to COP 2 billion.

Acuerdo 03 de 2025 modifies Acuerdo 07 de 2024 which had established the Keno game regulation. The instrument refines game-mechanic and operational provisions before the first full year of Keno operation closed. The amending act was opened to industry observations between 25 April and 5 May 2025 before formal issuance.

As of May 2026 there are fifteen operators authorised to offer online betting in Colombia, the most recent being MrYoker (Global Vitxo S.A.S., contrato de concesión C2261 de 2026). The count has moved between fourteen and sixteen since 2024 as contracts have renewed and lapsed; the Coljuegos register at coljuegos.gov.co is the live source of truth.

Articles 17 of the Ley 80 of 1993 framework apply to early termination of the concession contract for breach. On termination the operator must hand over the player database, return player balances and cooperate in the liquidation procedure. Performance guarantees remain in force until the contract is formally liquidated.

Resolution 20241200017144 of 14 August 2024 partially modifies Resolution 20182300011754 of 2018, which fixed the procedure for authorising the operation of localised games of chance. From 16 August 2024, Coljuegos applies a documentary pre-review (preradicado) before assigning a formal filing number. The change responded to a year in which over half of the 489 localised-operator requests received were filed with incomplete documentation, which had been silently consuming statutory response windows.

Acuerdo 04 of 20 April 2020 adds article 9-1 to Acuerdo 8/2014 and numeral 3 to article 20 of Acuerdo 3/2019 to permit the SUPER astro lottery game to be sold through Coljuegos-authorised JOSAO platforms during and after the COVID-19 emergency. Sales through this channel must be name-bound to a registered JOSAO player account; tickets are nominative and emailed to the player; the bet location is the DANE municipality / department on the player's account; the central game system records every bet at the same granularity as terminal sales; ticket cancellation is prohibited (mandatory pre-confirmation step); promotions apply equally across all JOSAO platforms; exclusivity agreements are prohibited under Ley 256 of 1998; and the operator must launch on a minimum of two JOSAO platforms.

Article 20 requires that every player participate exclusively through a personal user account registered on the operator's interactive channel. Anonymous play is prohibited; the account is the single record of all activity, balances and prizes for the registered user.

Article 21 requires the player to be of legal age (eighteen years or older) and resident in Colombian territory. The address declared at registration must be located in Colombia, supporting both consumer-protection rules and Coljuegos's jurisdictional perimeter.

Article 22 sets the KYC documentation: cédula de ciudadanía for Colombian nationals, cédula de extranjería for foreign residents, or passport. The operator must verify the authenticity of the document and the identity of the holder before allowing play.

Coljuegos requires that a single identity document map to a single account per operator. The control prevents account multiplication for the purpose of abusing bonuses, evading deposit limits or breaching self-exclusion.

Acoljuegos-authorised operators increasingly apply biometric reinforcement (liveness, facial-match) at registration or on high-risk events (large deposit, large withdrawal, password reset, prize claim). Biometric reinforcement supports both KYC integrity and self-exclusion enforcement.

Operators must define a dormancy threshold for inactive accounts and notify the player before applying any dormancy measure. Balances on dormant accounts remain payable to the player; they are not absorbed by the operator.

The player may close the account at any time. On closure the operator must settle any outstanding balance to the registered withdrawal method and retain KYC and transaction records for the period required by AML and tax law.

Player funds must be held separately from the operator's working capital, in a bank account or instrument distinct from the operator's operational treasury. Segregation is essential to ensure player balances are recoverable in an insolvency scenario.

Persons under eighteen years of age are prohibited from registering, depositing or playing on any JOSAO platform. Operators are responsible for preventing minor access and must demonstrate effective controls.

Self-excluded players cannot register or play during the period of their self-exclusion. The prohibition is absolute for the duration declared by the player and operators must enforce it across the platform.

Operators must prohibit play on their own platform by employees, directors and related parties whose involvement could compromise the integrity of the game or the supervisory chain. The prohibition is typically enforced through the internal code of conduct.

Operators must offer the player the ability to set daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits at registration and at any time thereafter. A reduction takes effect immediately; an increase only takes effect after a seventy-two-hour cooling-off period and a second confirmation by the player.

Operators must allow the player to set a maximum session duration. Once the limit is reached the platform must end the session and prevent further play until a defined cooling period elapses.

The responsible-gambling toolkit includes a player-set loss limit applied over a defined period (typically day, week, month). Once the limit is reached the platform must block further wagering for the remainder of the period.

Operators must also offer a wager-amount limit, defined as the total amount the player may wager in a given period. The wager limit is independent of deposit and loss limits and supports players who wish to bound exposure even when funds remain available.

The platform must display reality-check notifications to the player at defined intervals during a session, summarising elapsed time and net position. The player can adjust the cadence of reality checks within ranges defined by the operator.

Operators must monitor for markers of harm in player behaviour, including escalation of deposits, loss-chasing patterns, session length above thresholds, late-night activity spikes and complaints. Detected markers must trigger a graduated interaction with the player.

The interaction protocol defines a graduated response to markers of harm: informational message, dedicated agent contact, signposting to support resources and, where necessary, application of operator-initiated limits or referral to self-exclusion. Each step must be documented in the player record.

The platform must signpost players to recognised problem-gambling support resources, including the Toma el Control programme that Coljuegos promotes and external clinical resources where available.

Operators must train customer-facing and risk-team staff on responsible-gambling principles and the operator's interaction protocol. Training must be refreshed at least annually and captured in personnel records.

Resolution 20244000022654 of 16 October 2024 repeals Resolution 20214000036784 of 2021 and all resolutions modifying it, and consolidates the responsible-gambling regime applied to managers and operators of authorised games of chance. Scope covers localised games, novel games, internet-operated novel games and national raffles. Operators must lodge their responsible-gambling programme in PDF in the first fifteen business days of January 2025, approved by the legal representative, and must adopt the risk-factor identification test created by Coljuegos as the single official screening tool. Self-exclusion is defined as a player-initiated alternative through which the player removes themselves from the possibility of placing bets or buying credits, and operators must operate the channel and keep the self-exclusion register.

Resolution 20244000007624 of 16 April 2024 modified Resolution 20214000036784 of 2021 to extend the implementation deadline for the responsible-gambling regime to 1 August 2024. It was published in Diario Oficial 52.730 of 17 April 2024 and was later repealed by article 14 of Resolution 20244000022654 of 16 October 2024 alongside the rest of the 2021 chain.

Resolution 20244000016054 of 2024, published in Diario Oficial 52.836 of 2 August 2024, extended once more the implementation deadlines of Resolution 20214000036784 of 2021 as previously modified by Resolution 20224000032324 of 2022. It was repealed by article 14 of Resolution 20244000022654 of 16 October 2024.

Resolution 20244000018094 of 2024 once again extended the timelines of Resolution 20214000036784 of 2021 as modified by Resolution 20224000032324 of 2022. The instrument was issued during the period in which Coljuegos was preparing the consolidated 2024 framework and was repealed when Resolution 20244000022654 of 16 October 2024 entered into force.

The player has the right to request self-exclusion at any time. The request is irreversible for the period chosen by the player and cannot be cancelled or shortened by either the player or the operator during that period.

Operators must offer self-exclusion periods consistent with Coljuegos guidance, typically including short-term (for example 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days), medium-term (3 months, 6 months) and long-term (1 year and indefinite) options.

The self-exclusion block must be applied at the identity-document level (cédula de ciudadanía, cédula de extranjería or passport) so that the player cannot open a second account on the same platform during the self-exclusion period.

On self-exclusion the operator must return any unplayed balance to the player's verified withdrawal method. Bonus balances may be voided per the operator's published terms.

Operators must suspend all direct-marketing communications to the self-excluded player for the duration of the exclusion period. This includes e-mail, SMS, push and bonus offers.

Beyond self-exclusion, operators must offer a shorter cooling-off period (for example 24 hours or 72 hours) that blocks play without the irreversibility of self-exclusion. The cooling-off period supports players who want to step back without committing to a longer ban.

Where risk indicators justify it, the operator may impose a bar on play even without a player request. Operator-initiated bars should be documented in the player record, communicated to the player and reviewed periodically.

Reinstatement after self-exclusion requires a positive player action; the account does not reactivate automatically. The operator should use the reinstatement moment to re-test RG limits and reaffirm the support resources available.

Resolución 20231000019054 of 24 October 2023 (effective 1 January 2024) consolidates the advertising, sponsorship, promotion and commercial-communication regime for JOSAO operators. It caps annual advertising spend at the lower of 20 percent of BCIP (GGR minus 15 percent derechos de explotación minus 1 percent gastos de administración) or 11,000 SMMLV, requires every comm to carry the brand and the words "autorizado por Coljuegos", and prohibits cash-prize advertising, winner testimonials and ad placements in health centres or in school spaces that target minors. Non-compliance attracts a fine equal to 1.5 percent of the concession-contract value per breach; a third breach triggers unilateral termination of the concession.

Advertising must accurately reflect the products and odds being marketed. Misleading promises of winnings, suggestions that gambling is a viable income source or claims of skill being sufficient to win are prohibited.

Advertising must not be directed at minors. Imagery, voice, music, placement and channel selection must avoid material attractive to under-eighteens, and the eighteen-plus restriction must be clearly stated.

Every commercial communication must include a responsible-gambling message warning of the risks of problem gambling and referencing the support resources available. The message must be visible, legible and not subordinated to commercial copy.

Each commercial communication must identify the operator and disclose its Coljuegos authorisation, supporting consumer recognition of legal versus illegal offers.

Operators may sponsor sports teams, leagues and athletes subject to the advertising standards. Sponsorships must not feature minors and must not exploit imagery that targets under-eighteen audiences.

Influencer engagements must disclose the commercial relationship and must reference the operator's Coljuegos authorisation. Influencers cannot promote unauthorised operators or imply that gambling is a path to success.

Affiliates promoting JOSAO operators must follow the same advertising standards as the operator and must not promote unauthorised operators to Colombian players. The operator is responsible for the conduct of its affiliates.

Coljuegos has opened sanctioning processes against affiliates and influencers promoting unauthorised operators, including raffles and promotional games operated through social media without authorisation. Operators must avoid any commercial relationship with affiliates that mix legal and illegal promotion.

Bonus offers must disclose the principal terms clearly and prior to player acceptance: wagering requirement, eligible games, time limits, maximum conversion and any restrictions. Hidden or post-acceptance terms are not enforceable against the player.

Bonus offers must not be sent to self-excluded players or to players flagged for markers of harm. Bonus targeting lists must be filtered against the self-exclusion register and the RG-risk model.

Welcome offers and free bets must be conditioned on KYC verification before any conversion to cash. Conversion ceilings, wagering requirements and time limits must be reasonable and clearly disclosed.

Promotional games (sweepstakes and similar tied to product purchase) are a distinct Ley 643 category and require Coljuegos authorisation. Operators must not pass off a JOSAO bonus mechanic as a promotional game to escape the JOSAO regime.

Resolución 1785 of 2014 sets the foundational technical requirements for technical gambling systems operating under the JOSAO regime. It covers RNG quality, security of communications, integrity of transactions, audit logging and certification by accredited laboratories.

Resolución 8304 of 15 April 2020 is a narrow COVID-era measure. It extends the validity of existing lab-issued certifications over JOSAO game systems, platforms and integrations for the duration of the national sanitary-economic emergency plus six months, after which annual recertification resumes on the standard cadence. It also instructs Coljuegos staff to prioritise JOSAO game-type and game-addition authorisation requests while localised-games concession contracts remain suspended. Does NOT establish the technical-platform / RNG / RTP baseline; that lives in earlier technical resolutions and in Resolución 20224000026034/2022.

All games whose outcome depends on a random-number generator must use an RNG certified by a Coljuegos-accredited laboratory. The certification must address statistical randomness, unpredictability, non-repeatability and resistance to reverse engineering.

Operators must disclose the return-to-player (RTP) of each game and maintain RTP at or above the certified percentage. For internet novel games operated by internet the exploitation-rights regime treats games with an RTP equal to or above eighty-three per cent on a particular fee track.

Operators must transmit a supervisory data feed to Coljuegos, containing the events that Coljuegos requires to oversee the operation. Loss of feed must be notified immediately and remediated quickly.

Material changes to the platform (game release, RNG change, security architecture, supervisory feed) must follow a change-control procedure including testing, certification where required and notification to Coljuegos.

The platform must capture audit logs across registration, deposits, bets, prizes, withdrawals and administrative actions. Logs must be tamper-evident, retained for the period required and made available to Coljuegos on request.

Resolution 20244000025304 of 2024 issues the technical-requirements annex for the Super Astro novel game and repeals Resolution 20201000009494 of 17 June 2020. The annex sits beneath Acuerdo 09 de 2024 and fixes the platform, random-number generator, certification and operational-control parameters under which Super Astro may be operated. Drafts were opened to industry comment between 8 and 15 October 2024 and again between 26 October and 1 November 2024.

The platform must encrypt communications between the player and the operator using current cryptographic standards. Certificates must be valid and renewed before expiry.

Coljuegos requires operators to operate an information-security management system aligned with international standards (notably ISO 27001). Annual reviews and remediation plans must be documented.

Ley 1581 of 2012 is Colombia's personal-data protection law (Habeas Data). JOSAO operators are data controllers and must register with the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) and apply the lawful basis, transparency, security and rights principles.

Operators must keep player data within the jurisdictional and security perimeter disclosed in the platform documentation. International transfers must follow Habeas Data conditions and notify Coljuegos where required.

Coljuegos publishes a register of accredited testing laboratories on coljuegos.gov.co. Only laboratories on the register are recognised for the purposes of certifying components and games for the JOSAO regime.

Before commencing operations, the operator must submit the technical platform for certification by an accredited laboratory. The certification covers the platform architecture, security, integrity, audit logging and supervisory feed.

Each game offered to Colombian players must be certified. Certification addresses game rules, RTP, RNG integration where applicable and any specific responsible-gambling features (such as autoplay restrictions or display of net position).

GLI-19, Standards for Interactive Gaming Systems, is widely accepted across regulated jurisdictions and provides a common technical reference for interactive gaming systems. Coljuegos-accredited laboratories typically test JOSAO platforms against GLI-19 alongside Coljuegos-specific requirements.

Re-certification is required after material changes to certified components, including changes to the RNG, RTP, rules, security architecture or supervisory-feed integration. Re-certification must be completed before the changed component is exposed to players.

The testing laboratory must be independent of the operator and of any related-party supplier whose component it is certifying. Documented conflicts of interest are grounds for rejecting a certification.

Beyond initial certification, certified components may be subject to periodic surveillance audits by the laboratory or by Coljuegos directly. Surveillance audits verify ongoing compliance with the certified baseline.

PSE is the dominant deposit channel for JOSAO operators. PSE supports near-instant deposits from any Colombian bank account, integrates with the major digital wallets and offers low-friction authorisation through the player's banking app.

Nequi (Bancolombia) and Daviplata (Davivienda) are widely supported digital wallets that act both as deposit instruments (typically via PSE) and withdrawal destinations. Wallet limits apply (Nequi imposes monthly transaction caps for standard accounts).

Credit and debit card payments are accepted with caveats: the card must be in the player's name and 3D-Secure or equivalent authentication should be used. Operators must monitor for card-testing fraud and chargeback patterns.

Withdrawals must be paid to an instrument previously verified against the registered player. Withdrawals to third parties, anonymous accounts or cryptocurrency wallets are not permitted.

Operators must process withdrawal requests within a reasonable timetable, communicated to the player in advance. Withdrawal delays beyond the published timetable must be explained and documented.

Cryptocurrency rails are not recognised as JOSAO payment instruments. Deposits or withdrawals routed through crypto-to-fiat off-ramps must be screened and blocked.

Player funds must be held in a dedicated account, separate from the operator's working capital. The segregation supports recoverability of player balances in an insolvency scenario.

Operators must maintain financial reserves to support payment of prizes and player liabilities. Reserves must be evidenced in the audited financial statements and replenished promptly after any drawdown.

Operators must pay all valid winning bets in line with the published game rules. Disputes over the validity of a bet must be handled through the operator's dispute-resolution channel and escalable to Coljuegos.

Resolución 20195100044514 of 31 December 2019 establishes the requirements for the adoption and implementation of the Sistema de Prevención y Control del Lavado de Activos, la Financiación del Terrorismo y la Financiación de la Proliferación de Armas de Destrucción Masiva (LA/FT/FPADM) for gambling companies holding concession contracts with Coljuegos.

Obliged operators must report suspicious operations to the Unidad de Información y Análisis Financiero (UIAF). A suspicious operation is one whose number, amount or characteristics does not fit normal sector practice and cannot be reasonably justified.

Where no suspicious operations were detected in the preceding month, the obliged operator must report this fact to the UIAF within the first ten calendar days of the following month. The negative-report duty is independent of the positive-ROS duty.

Beyond ROS, obliged operators must report transactions above the thresholds set by UIAF (historically gambling operations above COP 5 million and prizes above COP 5 million). Thresholds are periodically updated by UIAF resolution.

The SIPLAFT regime covers both money laundering and the financing of terrorism (LA/FT). Operators must apply specific controls to detect terrorism-financing risk, including sanctions-list screening and politically exposed persons (PEP) due diligence.

The SIPLAFT regime also covers the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (FPADM). Controls broadly mirror the LA/FT controls but require attention to UNSC and other proliferation lists.

KYC is risk-based across the relationship, with enhanced due diligence (EDD) applied to higher-risk players (PEPs, sanctions-list adjacents, unusual flows). KYC is not a one-time event; periodic refresh is required.

Operators must verify the source of funds where flows exceed defined thresholds or where risk indicators suggest abnormality. Source-of-funds evidence may include bank statements, payslips or other documentary support.

Operators must keep ultimate beneficial owner records up to date and disclose them to Coljuegos on request. Ownership changes that affect control or beneficial-ownership composition must be notified.

Article 8 of Ley 643 sets exploitation rights (derechos de explotación) as the percentage of gross income from each game payable to the monopoly. For internet-operated novel games with RTP equal to or above eighty-three per cent, the rate is a minimum of fifteen per cent on gross income less prizes paid (the GGR base).

Net rentistic income is constitutionally earmarked for the SGSSS public health system. Coljuegos transfers proceeds to ADRES and, depending on the modality, to departmental health funds. The transfers are visible in Coljuegos transparency reporting.

Article 317 of the Estatuto Tributario taxes occasional income from lotteries, raffles, bets and similar at twenty per cent. The DIAN treats operator-paid prizes as occasional income for the player.

Withholding at source on prize payments to players is twenty per cent of the payment, applied where the individual prize exceeds forty-eight UVT (COP 2,513,952 for 2026, calculated as 48 × COP 52,374; UVT fixed by Resolución DIAN 000238 del 15 de diciembre de 2025).

Decreto 0175 of 14 February 2025, issued by the Presidency under the conmoción interior declared for the Catatumbo region, temporarily suspends the exception that had kept online games of chance outside the scope of value-added tax under article 420 of the Estatuto Tributario. Online games of chance operated exclusively by internet, whether from inside Colombia or from abroad, are subject to 19 per cent IVA between 22 February 2025 and 31 December 2025. The tax is collected on the deposit made by the player, so a COP 100,000 deposit yields approximately COP 84,033 of playable balance after the IVA is deducted. For foreign-domiciled operators the tax accrues when the player is fiscally resident, domiciled or has their economic seat in Colombia. The collected resources are earmarked for the conmoción interior response.

Coljuegos has powers to inspect operators, request information and conduct on-site audits across the JOSAO regime. Operators must facilitate access and respond to requests for information within the deadlines set.

Sanctioning procedures follow the administrative due-process rules of the Código de Procedimiento Administrativo y de lo Contencioso Administrativo (Ley 1437 of 2011 / CPACA). Operators have rights of defence, evidence-presentation and appeal.

Ley 1393 of 2010 supports a sanctions ladder for unauthorised gambling operation. For internet games, Coljuegos can impose sanctions of up to three hundred SMMLV per establishment, point of sale or vendor, on top of asset seizure and forfeiture proceedings.

Coljuegos has opened sanctioning processes against influencers, affiliates and companies operating raffles and promotional games illegally through social media. Intermediaries cannot rely on absence of a direct operating contract to escape responsibility.

On 25 March 2019 Coljuegos, working with the Policía Nacional, executed simultaneous operativos in Aracataca (Magdalena), Itagüí (Antioquia) and Cartagena (Bolívar). The intervention seized 101 unauthorised máquinas electrónicas tragamonedas (METs) and 15 online-betting modules across 11 commercial establishments (5 in Aracataca, 6 in Itagüí, 3 in Cartagena). Coljuegos announced administrative fines totalling COP 7,188 million against the establishment owners, applied under art. 44 of Ley 643 of 2001 as modified by art. 20 of Ley 1393 of 2010 (80 SMMLV per unauthorised machine). The seized equipment was destined for destruction and the owners were exposed to a five-year inhabilidad to operate juegos de suerte y azar. The case remains the largest publicly announced multi-site MET-and-online-module operativo of the 2019-2024 period.

On 27 September 2023 Coljuegos publicly declared illegal the sponsorship of Atlético Bucaramanga by the English betting brand Marsbet, on the basis that Marsbet held no Coljuegos concession or authorisation. Coljuegos had first sent a formal oficio to Dimayor on 14 August 2023 requesting review of the shirt advertising to avoid alertas, bloqueos o sanciones, and reiterated the oficio on 2 October 2023. Marsbet did not appear in the JOSAO authorised-operator list of 16 holders current at the date of the comunicado. The case is the first documented Coljuegos enforcement against shirt sponsorship by an unauthorised offshore brand in Colombian professional football and was used to justify subsequent URL-blocking and Dimayor-side compliance instructions.

On 13 February 2025 a Colombian administrative court annulled a sanction imposed by Coljuegos on a localised-games operator over differences in derechos de explotación. The court held that Coljuegos had exceeded the three-year caducidad limit of art. 52 of the CPACA (Ley 1437 of 2011) for the initiation of sanctioning action, ordered the return of the sums paid by the affected operator, and reaffirmed that the regulator cannot impose sanctions outside the legal inspection deadline. The precedent has been read by specialist counsel as opening the door for similar claims by operators previously sanctioned over historical derechos-de-explotación differences.

Coljuegos applies a sanction equivalent to 160% of the difference where a concessionaire omits or includes inaccurate information in its private declaration of derechos de explotación that produces a lower payment, and 200% of the value where the concessionaire omits the declaration and payment in full. This multiplier is the working enforcement standard for revenue-reporting breaches under the JOSAO regime and is reflected in Coljuegos communicados and operator-facing guidance.

On 3 April 2025 Coljuegos and the Policía Metropolitana de Bogotá executed a coordinated operativo across 12 establishments in the capital. The action seized 246 illegal gaming elements, including 57 internet-betting modules valued at approximately COP 100 million, and was characterised by Coljuegos as one of the largest illegal-gambling operativos ever conducted in Bogotá. The operativo was framed as recovering approximately COP 28,000 million per year in revenue that would otherwise have escaped the health-system transfer obligation. Cumulatively during the current administration, authorities had seized 5,291 illegal elements and destroyed 8,678 items representing more than COP 250 billion per year in foregone health-sector revenue.

On 26 September 2023 Coljuegos, with the Fiscalía and the inspection sub-direction of Cundinamarca, executed an operativo at a single establishment in the San Bernardo neighbourhood of central Bogotá. 21 unauthorised máquinas tragamonedas were seized and one person was captured and turned over to the Fiscalía. The case is the cleanest small-footprint single-establishment precedent of the 2023 cycle and illustrates that even isolated venues with double-digit machine counts can trigger inter-agency capture.

During calendar year 2023 the joint Coljuegos / Policía / departmental enforcement programme in Valle del Cauca produced 66 captures of persons operating illegal juegos de suerte y azar, the seizure of over 779,100 illegal rifa tickets and 67 unauthorised gambling elements. The figures were communicated in the inter-institutional ratification of the anti-illegal-gambling commitment between the Gobernación del Valle, the Alcaldía de Cali and Coljuegos. The Valle del Cauca cycle is the most fully quantified departmental enforcement baseline published by Coljuegos.

Coljuegos publicly reported the issuance of 14,570 blocking orders against illegal online betting sites over the four-year window ending March 2024, and announced a further milestone of 10,000 illegal websites and social-media profiles blocked in the year to 3 February 2025 (Boletín 004 / 2025) — the highest annual figure in the entity's history. Brand-specific 2025 takedowns include 141 sites linked to 1Win, 242 to 1XBET, 19 to BBRBET and 3 to Pinnacle, plus 289 social-media profiles via Meta and the Centro Cibernético Policial.

Coljuegos has intensified actions to block the URLs of major illegal brands such as 1Win, 1XBET and Pinnacle, including domain rotations and social-media profiles used to direct Colombian players to the unauthorised offer.

Circular Externa 017 of 23 April 2025, issued by MinTIC in coordination with Coljuegos and the National Police, defines the procedure for requesting, assigning, tracking credentials, uploading and blocking websites, applications and digital channels identified as exploiting, operating, selling, paying, advertising or marketing unauthorised games of chance. Coljuegos is the sole requesting authority. Internet service providers must consult the Coljuegos URL list daily and execute the blockages indicated. The Circular operationalises the URL-blocking pillar of Decreto 0175 de 2025.

Under the Circular Externa 017 framework, Coljuegos publishes a weekly URL list on a digital platform from which internet service providers download the blocklist. By mid-2025 the cumulative number of issued blockage orders exceeded 26,600. Coljuegos has also formally requested Meta to block accounts of named Colombian influencers, including those publicly known as La Liendra, Epa Colombia and Yeferson Cossio, for promoting illegal betting platforms.

On 21 February 2025 Coljuegos announced the blocking of 409 portals associated with four offshore brands operating in Colombia without authorisation: 1Win (141 portals), 1XBET (242 portals), BBRBET (19 portals) and Pinnacle (3 portals). The action was executed jointly with the Ministerio de las TIC and the Policía Nacional. Coljuegos paired the blocking with an explicit consumer warning that players depositing on these brands risk losing their funds and personal data. The action is the most detailed brand-by-brand URL-blocking breakdown published by Coljuegos to date and consolidates 1XBET and 1Win as the priority targets of the illegal-site programme.

On 10 December 2024 Coljuegos publicly requested Meta to block 289 Facebook and Instagram profiles operating illegal rifas, bingos and promotional games, or promoting unauthorised betting houses. A further 35 administrative proceedings were already underway and 79 profiles were under investigation. The named accounts include high-reach Colombian influencer profiles (Lechoneitor, Epa Colombia, La Liendra, Yeferson Cossio, Motormanía Colombia, Javier Arias Stunt) and the 1XBET brand profile. Coljuegos cited art. 312 of the Código Penal and a penalty exposure of up to 100 SMMLV. Coljuegos estimates the illegal rifa channel removes approximately COP 70 billion per year from the health sector.

Coljuegos has consolidated its illegal-site URL-blocking programme as the primary perimeter tool against offshore operators. By year-end 2024 the cumulative blocking exceeded 10,000 sites and social-media profiles, and by 30 September 2025 Coljuegos had requested blocking of 28,100 sites in 2025 alone, with a projected 3,000 additional requests still to come. Only 14 operators held legal authorisation for online gaming at the date of that figure. The programme is jointly executed with MinTIC and the Policía Nacional.

On 30 September 2025 Coljuegos requested the blocking of Polymarket, a cryptocurrency-denominated prediction-market platform, on the basis that it operated electoral betting (including bets on Colombian presidential elections) without authorisation. Coljuegos applied its three-element gambling test — riesgo patrimonial, expectativa de premio y resultado dependiente de un evento incierto — to confirm that the platform fell within the monopoly perimeter. The action is the first publicly documented Coljuegos enforcement against a crypto-prediction-market platform and the first against electoral-event betting.

Article 312 of the Código Penal punishes the illicit exercise of monopoly activity with imprisonment of six to eight years and a fine of five hundred to one thousand SMMLV. The penalty is increased by one third where committed by a contracted concessionaire and up to one half where committed by a public official.

Article 313 punishes the concessionaire, legal representative, administrator or authorised entrepreneur that fails to transfer monopoly rents owed to health and education with imprisonment of five to ten years and a fine of up to 1,020,000 UVT. The same penalty applies to the failure to declare the income received.

On 13 November 2024 Coljuegos announced the transfer of 366 cases to the Fiscalía General de la Nación for criminal investigation of natural and juridical persons for the unauthorised operation of juegos de suerte y azar. The package comprised 312 cases previously archived for more than three years that Coljuegos chose to unarchive and 57 new cases opened during the prior year. The investigated conduct included unauthorised operation of máquinas tragamonedas, internet-betting modules and other games without payment of derechos de explotación, with potential connected offences of lavado de activos, concierto para delinquir and enriquecimiento ilícito. The legal basis cited is art. 312 of the Código Penal.

In January 2024 the Fiscalía General de la Nación, under the Argenta strategy directed by then-Fiscal General Francisco Barbosa Delgado, seized 22 properties used for the illegal commercialisation of juegos de suerte y azar. The properties were located in Valledupar (Cesar), Ciénaga and Santa Marta (Magdalena) and were preliminarily valued at COP 2,000 million. The Argenta strategy is positioned as a financial-disruption tool against organised crime, narcotrafficking and illegal gambling, and the action is the largest documented single-strategy real-estate seizure tied to unauthorised juegos de suerte y azar in the 2020-2025 window.

In November 2024 the Fiscalía General de la Nación dismantled a criminal network that commercialised illegal juegos de suerte y azar in the Eje Cafetero and Valle del Cauca regions, generating revenue in excess of COP 10,000 million. 18 persons were captured in the operation, which also produced seizures of cash and forged documents. The case is one of the largest single-network captures publicly announced in the 2020-2025 window and ties unauthorised gambling operation to broader criminal-organisation activity.

Operators must detect and report suspicious betting patterns to Coljuegos and to the relevant sports-integrity bodies. Suspicious patterns include unusual stake concentration, late-money movements and asymmetric odds movements.

Athletes, officials and insiders with influence over the outcome of an event are prohibited from betting on related markets. Operators must operate the lists provided by sports federations and integrity bodies.

Operators must have documented procedures to suspend markets when integrity concerns arise, including void-bet handling and player communications. Coordination with international monitors (such as IBIA, Sportradar) supports timely action.

Coljuegos and JOSAO operators cooperate with international integrity organisations (IBIA, Sportradar, INTERPOL where relevant). Cooperation supports cross-border detection and response to match-fixing networks.

Operators must provide a player-complaint channel reachable through the platform. Complaints must be acknowledged and resolved within the published SLA; unresolved complaints can be escalated to Coljuegos.

Where the operator complaint channel does not resolve the dispute, the player may escalate to Coljuegos. Coljuegos can request information from the operator and intermediate the resolution.

Operators must preserve evidence relating to disputed transactions, including game logs, session data and KYC artefacts, while the dispute is being resolved. Destruction of evidence during a live dispute is a serious breach.

The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) has consumer-protection competence and Habeas Data oversight. JOSAO operators may face complaints through the SIC alongside Coljuegos escalations.