Gambling now exceeds 2% of GDP in Colombia
A report by Corficolombiana, a financial corporation specializing in investment banking and economic research, indicated that gambling in Colombia went from representing less than 0.5 percent of the gross domestic product before the pandemic to more than 2 percent currently. According to the analysis, after the pandemic, entertainment doubled in size and grew six times faster than the economy as a whole, and more than 80 percent of the recent growth in that sector would be explained by gambling.
The study cites figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics, according to which between late 2019 and early 2026, entertainment registered cumulative growth of close to 100 percent, six times the 16 percent advance observed in the gross domestic product. As a result, the weight of the entertainment sector in the economy rose from less than 3 percent before the pandemic to 4.7 percent currently, above traditionally strategic activities such as construction or mining. National accounts also show that production associated with gambling increased by approximately 444 percent in current pesos and 314 percent in real terms between 2019 and 2024.
Corficolombiana stated that, if a decade ago the conversation about entertainment revolved around concerts, live shows, and recreational activities, today it is difficult to understand its performance without the central role of betting and gambling, particularly in their digital modalities. The research projects that the sector will grow by at least 5.8 percent in 2026, thus remaining the most dynamic sector of the Colombian economy for the sixth consecutive year, a momentum that would continue to be led by online gambling, favored this year by the FIFA World Cup as an event that attracted more people to these platforms.
At that point, the report cites data from the Colombian Federation of Gambling Businessmen, according to which the World Cup would have generated close to 122 million bets and a monthly volume of close to 5.3 trillion pesos. The document links this impact to the current discussion about the economic and fiscal contribution of gambling and to the tax reform proposals of Gustavo Petro's government aimed at making the value-added tax on online gambling permanent. In parallel, Coljuegos reported that gambling contributions to health increased from 403 billion pesos in 2019 to nearly 733 billion in 2025. The report concludes that the challenge will be to find a balance that allows strengthening the economic and fiscal contribution of the sector without compromising the conditions that favored its formalization and sustainability.
Tags: Corficolombiana, gambling in Colombia, gross domestic product, Fecoljuegos