Colombia Gaming License

Key facts

What is a Colombia gaming license?

What the market calls a Colombia gaming license is a contrato de concesión with Coljuegos. Ley 643 de 2001 makes games of chance a state fiscal monopoly, the monopolio rentístico, and reserves its revenue for health. A private operator therefore buys a share of that monopoly under contract, rather than permission to run a private business.

That framing drives every requirement below. Because the concessionaire handles public revenue, Coljuegos demands guarantees, monthly declarations and audited reporting that a private operating permit would not. The revenue is constitutionally earmarked for health: the 15% derechos de explotación fund the subsidised system. That anchor is why the rate has held steady since 2016 while other taxes moved three times in eighteen months.

A Colombia gambling license and a Colombia gaming license describe the same instrument. Coljuegos issues one.

One point is worth settling early. Colombia runs no tender and caps no number of concessions. Any company meeting the financial, technical and legal requirements can sign, which makes this an open habilitación rather than a licensing round. Brazil, Greece and Italy all ration entry by round or by number. Colombia does not.

Who regulates online gambling in Colombia?

Coljuegos regulates online gambling in Colombia. The full name is Empresa Industrial y Comercial del Estado Administradora del Monopolio Rentístico de los Juegos de Suerte y Azar. Decreto Ley 4142 de 2011 created it and attached it to the Ministry of Finance. All internet games sit with Coljuegos.

An operator pursuing a Colombia online gambling license deals with Coljuegos alone for the concession itself. Six other bodies attach obligations once the contract is signed, and vendor pages routinely confuse them.

Ley 1753 de 2015, art. 93 put internet games inside Coljuegos' remit by amending art. 38 of Ley 643 de 2001. A game counts as operated by internet when the bet and the prize payment both happen by that means. Registration on the authorised portal comes first.

What does the Coljuegos online concession cover?

One Coljuegos concession covers every authorised online vertical. Casino games driven by a random number generator, live casino and certain instant win games run under it. So does fixed odds betting on real sporting and non sporting events. Coljuegos approves each game modality separately, so the concession is single but the catalogue is not automatic.

Art. 1.3.9 of Acuerdo 08 de 2020 governs betting on real events and sets the limits. Virtual games whose graphics imitate a lottery or a numerical draw are barred. So are events representing violent acts, events that violate human dignity, and events contrary to morality and good customs. Coljuegos has treated betting on electoral events as unauthorised and asked internet providers to block a platform that offered it.

Keno is not available to any operator. Acuerdo 06 de 2023 found that Keno is not an immediate prize game. Keno therefore has no legal basis to operate until Coljuegos regulates it separately and awards a concession for it. Immediate prize games that do run include Aviator, Lucky Super 6 and Cops and Robbers.

Do software suppliers need a license in Colombia?

No. Coljuegos issues no B2B or supplier license, only the B2C concession to the operator. A supplier reaches the Colombian market by meeting the Requerimientos Técnicos para Juegos Operados por Internet. Its games, platform and random number generator are certified in a laboratory that Coljuegos accredits.

Suppliers used to carry no Colombian exposure, because Coljuegos does not license them. That changed in March 2026. Decreto 0240 de 2026 requires financial entities, payment providers, technology platforms, software developers, content providers, media and advertising businesses to refuse service to unauthorised operators. The decree lists what only a valid concession now permits: operation, service and content provision, platforms and software, payment intermediation, transaction assurance, promotion and advertising.

Non-compliance draws sanctions from the relevant supervisory authority. A supplier serving a grey brand aimed at Colombia therefore carries direct exposure, not just commercial risk.

Who can apply for a Coljuegos concession?

Only a Colombian legal person can hold the concession: an S.A. or an S.A.S. whose corporate purpose includes juegos de suerte y azar. Foreign ownership is allowed and normal, so the requirement is local incorporation rather than Colombian capital. Betsson, Codere, Kaizen Gaming, bwin, Stake and Luckia all operate through Colombian subsidiaries.

Local presence is the substance of a Coljuegos gambling license application. A concessionaire needs a registered Colombian address with Chamber of Commerce registration and a NIT. A Colombian bank account must hold both corporate funds and player funds, and the compliance officer must be based in Colombia and registered with Coljuegos.

Player eligibility is narrow by design. Registration is open to people aged 18 or over who are domiciled in Colombia, verified against a Colombian identity document. Coljuegos amended the Requerimientos Técnicos to accept the PEP and the PPT as identity documents, which brings Venezuelan migrants holding those permits inside the regulated market.

How much does a Colombia gaming license cost?

Coljuegos charges nothing to file. The recurring cost carries the price. The fixed annual derecho de explotación is 811 SMMLV, which is COP 1,419,983,955 at the 2026 minimum wage. Payment falls in the first 20 business days of each operating year, and 15% of gross gaming revenue is charged monthly.

The fixed derecho moves on a decision no operator takes part in. Decreto 1469 de 2025 set the 2026 minimum wage at COP 1,750,905, against COP 1,423,500 for 2025. The 811 SMMLV fee therefore rose from COP 1,154,458,500 to COP 1,419,983,955, a 23% increase in one January. Coljuegos changed no rate at all.

That figure then went through the courts, which is worth knowing before a five year model is signed off. The Consejo de Estado suspended Decreto 1469 de 2025 on 12 February 2026 and ordered a replacement, the government re-fixed the same COP 1,750,905 transitionally by Decreto 0159 de 2026 on 19 February 2026, and in July 2026 the same court revoked the suspension, leaving the 23% rise in place while the nullity case continues. The fee an operator pays therefore turned on litigation over labour policy, not on anything Coljuegos or the operator did.

Contract value for guarantee purposes is the operator's own projection of derechos de explotación plus gastos de administración. The projection is filed in the Annex 1 format to Resolución 20161200025334 de 2016, and it does not bind the operator, because actual payments follow Ley 643 de 2001.

Both guarantees are surety instruments issued by an insurer or a bank established in Colombia. The cash cost is therefore the annual premium, not the face value. Coljuegos also requires the guarantee to be refreshed as the variable derechos move, every six months during the first year of operation.

Anyone pricing a Colombia remote gambling license should treat this as a cost structure, not a single number. Coljuegos publishes no flat minimum capital figure. The financial test lives in Resolución 20161200025334 de 2016, amended as recently as Resolución 20250021304 de 2025. Coljuegos certifies compliance with it case by case. The euro figures in the table above are published estimates rather than regulator figures.

What taxes and levies do licensed operators pay in Colombia?

Licensed Colombian operators pay 15% of gross bets less prizes paid as derechos de explotación, declared monthly in the first ten business days. Certified retorno al jugador of 83% or more secures that rate. Corporate income tax is 35%. Gastos de administración add up to 1% of the derechos, which is roughly 0.15% of gross gaming revenue.

The administration charge is widely misread. Art. 9 of Ley 643 de 2001 caps it at 1% of the derechos de explotación, and Coljuegos applies the cap rate, on the fixed and variable derechos alike. Confirm the figure in the draft contract rather than assuming it. At the 15% rate it therefore costs about 0.15% of gross gaming revenue. Guides that describe it as a further 1% of revenue overstate it roughly sevenfold.

Missing the retorno al jugador threshold does more than add two points. At 15% the base is gross bets less prizes paid. At 17% the base is gross bets. Fecoljuegos, the industry association, put 2024 online turnover above COP 45 trillion against operator income of COP 2.9 trillion, a margin below 7%, in figures reported in July 2025. On those proportions a 17% charge on gross bets would exceed gross gaming revenue outright, which is why every holder of a Colombia betting license certifies 83%.

Players are taxed separately and at source. Winnings from lotteries, raffles and bets fall under ganancias ocasionales at 20%, set by art. 317 of the Estatuto Tributario, withheld when a payment exceeds 48 UVT. At the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374 that threshold is COP 2,513,952.

What happened with the 19% VAT and the 16% consumption tax?

Colombia tried three times to tax online gambling above the concession fee. Two attempts are dead and refunded. The third is live. Decreto 0240 de 2026 created a 16% impuesto nacional al consumo for 2026, and the Corte Constitucional has not yet ruled on it. Automatic review means the rate could still fall.

The base of the current tax is reported wrongly almost everywhere, and the error is expensive. Decreto 0240 de 2026 makes the player's deposit the taxable event, which is where readers go wrong. The base gravable is something else: ingresos brutos del juego, meaning bets placed less prizes paid across a two month period, payable by the operator. A COP 100,000 deposit does not generate a COP 16,000 charge, and accounting notes that model it that way are wrong.

Anyone building a case for a Colombia sportsbook license needs two scenarios, not one. Price the 15% derechos on its own, then price it with the 16% consumption tax added. Together the two take about 31% of gross gaming revenue in 2026, before the 35% corporate income tax. The Corte Constitucional has already reversed one version of this tax and ordered refunds, so neither figure is settled.

How long does the concession last and how long does approval take?

Ley 643 de 2001, art. 7, sets the concession at no less than three years and no more than five. Coljuegos signs five year contracts, counted from its approval of the performance guarantee rather than from signature. Coljuegos also states a two month window to answer an application. Certification runs before that clock starts.

Total elapsed time therefore depends on certification readiness rather than on the regulator. Four stages sit between a decision to enter and a live site: document assessment by Coljuegos, technical certification of the platform and games in an accredited laboratory, signature of the contrato de concesión, and posting of the guarantees.

The performance guarantee is due within fifteen business days of signature, under art. 10 of Resolución 20161200025334 de 2016. An operator that has already certified its platform meets a different timeline from one that starts the laboratory process after filing. No published source converts either route into days.

What are the technical requirements for the platform?

Coljuegos certifies the platform, the games and the random number generator through an accredited laboratory before an operator goes live. The technical gaming system runs on a primary and a secondary server inside Colombia so Coljuegos can supervise it. Certified retorno al jugador must reach 83%. Any change to the system triggers re-certification.

The requirements that shape a build are these:

• Platform, games and random number generator certified in a laboratory accredited by Coljuegos, under the Requerimientos Técnicos para Juegos Operados por Internet.

• A primary server and a secondary server located in Colombia, giving Coljuegos supervisory access in real time. Published guidance specifies a TIER III data centre with a mirror server, which is a Legal 500 reading rather than a figure Coljuegos publishes.

• The platform handling money transactions located in Colombia.

• One specific website on a .co domain assigned to the concessionaire, verified by Coljuegos against the Colombian .co WHOIS register. The registration must cover at least the contract term (art. 5, Resolución 20161200025334 de 2016, added by Resolución 20201000008294 de 2020).

• Minimum certified retorno al jugador of 83%, which is also the threshold for the 15% derechos rate.

• Identity and age verification at onboarding against a Colombian identity document, with the PEP and the PPT accepted.

• The Coljuegos risk factors test and self-exclusion tools built into the account.

• Re-certification whenever the systems, hardware, software, databases or infrastructure change.

Cryptocurrency is not an accepted payment or betting means. Decreto 175 de 2025 referred to criptoactivos when defining a taxable base, and Decreto 0240 de 2026 repeats that wording, but defining a tax base authorises nothing. Coljuegos is also revising the Requerimientos Técnicos, so the current set should not be treated as final.

What are the AML obligations (SIPLAFT) for Coljuegos licensees?

Every Coljuegos licensee runs a SIPLAFT under Resolución 20195100044514 de 2019: written policy, know your customer checks, beneficial ownership verification, risk segmentation, an oficial de cumplimiento and record keeping. Reports go to the UIAF, the Unidad de Información y Análisis Financiero, within the first ten calendar days of the following month.

Reporting is specific rather than general. The monthly package covers suspicious operation reports, an absence report where none arose, transaction reports and prize winner reports.

Three thresholds bind an online operator, all of them in Resolución 20195100044514 de 2019. Buying participation credits, or taking funds out of a game account, is reportable at COP 5,000,000 or more. So is any single prize above COP 5,000,000, and more than one prize in a month adding to over COP 8,000,000. The COP 15,000,000 figure quoted elsewhere belongs to casino chip exchanges, not internet games.

The compliance officer role carries hard conditions under art. 14 of the same resolution. The holder sits at least at the second level of the hierarchy, is a direct employee with decision-making power, and cannot be an outside contractor. Anyone in Internal Audit or Revisoría Fiscal is excluded.

Coljuegos reviews and approves the CV before registering the appointment. One person cannot hold the role at two operators, though a corporate group may share a single officer on proof to Coljuegos. Records supporting a reported operation are kept for at least five years. Resolución 260 de 2013 remains part of the same framework.

What are the advertising and responsible gambling rules?

Only operators authorised by Coljuegos, or third parties under contract with them, may advertise online gambling in Colombia. Advertising must stay informational, must carry responsible gambling messaging and an 18 plus notice, and must not target minors. Responsible gambling itself runs under Resolución 20244000022654 de 2024.

The investment caps are suspended and the merits are undecided. Resolución 20231000019054 de 2023 has been in force since 1 January 2024. The ceiling was 20% of the BCIP, or a maximum of 11,000 SMMLV. BCIP means gross gaming revenue less the derechos de explotación and the gastos de administración. A new entrant faced a lower first year ceiling of 8,000 SMMLV.

In mid June 2026 the Consejo de Estado suspended those limits, along with the fines and sanctions attached to them. The court also suspended the grounds for terminating a concession unilaterally over advertising breaches. The suspension became firm in July 2026 when no appeal was filed. A precautionary measure is not a ruling, so a media plan should survive the caps returning.

Responsible gambling obligations are unaffected by that dispute. Resolución 20244000022654 de 2024, in force since 16 October 2024, requires a responsible gaming programme filed with Coljuegos. The programme carries objectives, an annual action plan, an annual staff training plan, warning signals and compliance indicators.

Self-exclusion is the player's own choice of period, preset on the operator's platform in days, weeks and months. Revocation takes effect 72 hours after the request (art. 10.2.2). The Coljuegos risk-factor identification test is the only official tool an operator may use (art. 10.2.1). An annual report is due in the first fifteen business days of January, covering the previous year (art. 11). Advertising to a self-excluded or legally interdicted person is prohibited outright.

Bonuses are the next thing to move. Coljuegos published draft Resolución 20250022644 for public comment on its own site between 21 October and 4 November 2025. The draft would cap bonuses converted to credits at 1.6% of monthly bets for operations subject to VAT. Nothing is adopted yet.

What happens if an operator serves Colombian players without a concession?

Operating without a Coljuegos concession is a criminal offence in Colombia, not just a licensing breach. Art. 312 of the Código Penal, as amended by Ley 1393 de 2010, carries six to eight years in prison. The fine runs from 500 to 1,000 monthly minimum wages. Coljuegos also blocks sites and payment channels.

The offence is named ejercicio ilícito de actividad monopolística de arbitrio rentístico, and the sentence rises with the offender's position. A concessionaire, legal representative or authorised operator that commits it faces a penalty increased by a third, and a public servant faces an increase of up to half. The player is not prosecuted, but loses any right to claim a win or recover a stake.

Blocking runs on a dedicated procedure. MinTIC Circular Externa 0017 de 2025 gives Coljuegos direct channels to internet service providers and sets out how URLs are reported for blocking, activated only on Coljuegos' formal request. Coljuegos reports tens of thousands of blocking orders since 2022, alongside sanctions and physical raids.

Third parties now share the exposure. Since March 2026, Decreto 0240 de 2026 requires banks, payment providers, platforms, software developers, media and advertising businesses to refuse service to unauthorised operators. Affiliates and intermediaries promoting an unauthorised brand also answer to the SIC, the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio. Art. 61 of Ley 1480 de 2011 carries fines up to 2,000 SMMLV. On a repeat offence the SIC can order a website removed permanently.

What changed for Colombian licensees in 2025-2026?

Three things changed for Colombian licensees since February 2025. The tax base moved repeatedly and is still contested. Third parties became liable for serving unauthorised operators, and the advertising caps were suspended. The concession itself, its term, its fee structure and its technical regime did not change.

The dated sequence:

• February 2025: Decreto 175 de 2025 imposes 19% IVA on internet gambling, taxable base the player deposit divided by 1.19, reaching operators inside and outside Colombia.

• 16 October 2025: Sentencia C-431 de 2025 upholds Decreto 175 except art. 1, para. 5, which had ordered Coljuegos to instruct internet service providers directly to block channels, sites and media serving unauthorised gambling, with MinTIC to write the implementing rules. The decree expires on 31 December 2025.

• December 2025: Decreto 1390 de 2025 declares an economic and social emergency and Decreto Legislativo 1474 de 2025 revives the 19% IVA.

• 29 January 2026: Auto 082 de 2026 suspends Decreto 1390, and Auto 084 de 2026 stops Decreto 1474 producing effects.

• March 2026: Decreto 0240 de 2026 creates the 16% impuesto nacional al consumo for 2026 and imposes the third party duty to refuse service to unauthorised operators.

• April 2026: Sentencia C-075 de 2026 strikes down Decreto 1390 and Sentencia C-079 de 2026, dated 15 April, strikes down Decreto 1474 and orders refunds of indirect taxes paid.

• June 2026: the Consejo de Estado suspends the advertising investment caps, fines and unilateral termination grounds. The measure becomes firm in July 2026.

• 24 June 2026: Sentencia C-191 de 2026, announced in the Court's Comunicado 22, upholds the Decreto 150 de 2026 emergency but limits it to the 181 municipalities named in the disaster agency's report and excludes several subject matters from it.

• 20 July 2026: Proyecto de Ley 004 is filed, proposing a permanent 19% IVA on online gambling. The government that filed it left office on 7 August 2026.

The status of Decreto 0240 de 2026 and of Proyecto de Ley 004 should be checked on the day any business case is signed off. Both move faster than any published guide.

Advantages of a Colombia gaming license

Colombia issued Latin America's first online gambling regulation in 2016 and signed its first online concession in June 2017. Entry stays open: no tender, no cap on the number of concessions, and one contract covering every authorised vertical. The domestic market holds 53.4 million people on DANE's 2026 projection, of whom 39.2 million are over 18, which is 73.5% of the population.

The 15% base rate has not moved since 2016. It is earmarked for the subsidised health system, which gives it a constitutional anchor that ordinary tax rates lack, and it is the reason the derechos de explotación survived three separate attempts to add tax on top.

Being local is a commercial asset rather than only a cost. A Colombian licensee can sponsor Colombian clubs, buy offline media and run informational campaigns that an offshore brand cannot. Advertising rules are constrained but permissive by regional standards, where several European markets have moved to near total bans.

Enforcement works in a licensee's favour. Coljuegos blocks unauthorised sites through a dedicated MinTIC procedure, sanctions operators and, since March 2026, reaches the banks, payment providers and media that serve them.

Disadvantages and limitations of the Colombian regime

The Coljuegos concession is inward looking. The concession authorises play by users domiciled in Colombia and gives no right to target any other country. The fixed derecho of 811 SMMLV falls due whether the year was profitable or not, and it re-prices every January with the national minimum wage.

Tax volatility is the main modelling risk. The 16% impuesto nacional al consumo was created for 2026 only and sits under automatic constitutional review, while the bill that would make a 19% IVA permanent from 2027 is unresolved in Congress. A five year model needs both scenarios, not an average.

Localisation is not optional. Colombia requires a Colombian company, a Colombian bank account holding player funds, the transactional platform and a second server inside the country, a .co domain and a compliance officer resident in Colombia. Cryptocurrency cannot be used as a payment or betting means. The advertising regime is in limbo pending the Consejo de Estado case.

Anyone expecting the speed and light touch of an offshore route should look elsewhere. Colombia sells credibility and a real domestic market, and the price is building the whole operation inside the country.

Why choose MGL for Colombia gaming licensing?

MGL builds the Colombian side of a Coljuegos application. The work covers company structuring, the financial and legal dossier, and coordination of platform certification. SIPLAFT, the compliance officer and tax modelling across both 2026 scenarios sit with the same team. MGL has delivered 300+ licenses.

What that means in practice:

• Structuring the Colombian S.A.S. so its corporate purpose, patrimony and working capital match what Coljuegos tests.

• Assembling the financial, technical and legal dossier in the form Coljuegos assesses it.

• Coordinating certification of the platform, games and random number generator with an accredited laboratory, and sequencing it against the filing.

• Building the SIPLAFT manual and code of conduct, and placing a compliance officer Coljuegos will register.

• Arranging the performance and wage guarantees as surety instruments rather than trapped cash.

• Modelling the tax load on both the 15% floor and the 31% case, so the decision to commit is made with the range visible.

MGL does not promise an approval or a date that Coljuegos controls.