Illegal lottery cost healthcare over $8 million in 2025
Authorities in the Colombian department of Santander have raised an alarm about the fiscal and social impact of illegal gambling. The manager of the Lotería de Santander, Herwing Peña Ordóñez, confirmed that in 2025, the department failed to receive over COP 30 billion, approximately USD 8.1 million, intended for the public health system. This loss was a consequence of illegal sports betting and lotteries operating outside the regulated framework.
The figure was revealed during a meeting led by the Government of Santander, attended by the departmental Interior Secretary, Óscar, and other representatives of the regional Executive. According to Lotería estimates, the illegal gambling business in Santander moves close to COP 45 billion annually, a portion of which would normally be diverted as a solidarity contribution to fund the Colombian hospital network.
The most critical situation is seen in illegal "chance" (a type of lottery), which already accounts for around 50% of the local market and continues to grow each year. This modality operates with informal vendors, networks that replicate the operation of official lotteries, and digital systems that leverage the cultural familiarity of the product. The sale of illegal lottery tickets, meanwhile, is estimated to be between 12% and 13% of the total clandestine bets detected in the department.
The problem is not exclusive to Santander, but it becomes politically sensitive in a country where Coljuegos and departmental lotteries sustain the primary funding mechanism for healthcare through gambling. Every peso that goes into the illegal circuit is, in the official view, a peso taken away from hospitals, public health programs, and care for vulnerable populations—an equation that Colombian regulation itself assumes from its normative design.
This case reinforces a fundamental Latin American debate. In Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, national and subnational lotteries argue that the best way to combat illegal gambling is to strengthen the regulated offering, expand digital channels, and reinforce cooperation among regulators, security forces, and the banking system to cut off payment flows to unauthorized operators. Santander, with its multi-million dollar bill for public health, adds to a series of regional evidences showing that the battle against clandestine gambling is won or lost in the daily operation of the market.
Tags: Colombia, Santander, Lottery of Santander, illegal chance Colombia, illegal gambling Colombia, public health Colombia