Territorial gaming contributed $790 million to healthcare
The president of Coljuegos, Marco Emilio Hincapié, reported that games of chance, lottery, and Raspa&Listo, known as territorial games, contributed 2.56 trillion pesos, approximately 790 million dollars, to the health of the territories in Colombia between 2022 and 2026. He presented these figures during the general assembly of the Federation of Lotteries of Colombia, held at the end of July in Cartagena de Indias, as part of his management report.
As he detailed, the 15 territorial lotteries transferred more than 1.05 trillion pesos to the health system, while permanent betting, known as chance, contributed 1.33 trillion. These figures, in his opinion, reflect the sustained growth of the sector and the impact of decisions made to guarantee its sustainability. During the four-year period, lottery sales reached 2.9 trillion pesos and chance sales exceeded 10.6 trillion, which the official interpreted as increased confidence of Colombians in legal games.
Hincapié stated that the Government fulfilled its commitment to health and the games of chance sector, and attributed the agency's management to boosting territorial games, which resulted in more resources for the less favored population. He also highlighted the signing of more than 40 legality pacts with chance and lottery concessionaires to combat structures operating unauthorized games, a strategy that he affirmed strengthened the legal industry in all 32 departments.
The executive also reviewed the transformation agenda promoted by the National Council of Games of Chance, which allowed for updating sector regulations, reinforcing control and transparency mechanisms, promoting responsible gambling, issuing new technical standards for draws, and supporting lotteries in capitalization and institutional modernization processes. In this regard, he anticipated that regulatory projects aimed at modernizing the lottery regime, incorporating technologies such as random number generation, enabling digital transmissions of draws, and creating exceptional mechanisms to protect the financial stability of lotteries against illiquidity risks are already structured.
The federation's assembly brought together in Cartagena the managers of the country's 15 lotteries, regulatory and oversight authorities, and distributors, printing houses, operators, technology providers, and other sector stakeholders, in a meeting that addressed topics such as cybersecurity, process digitalization, and activity regulation. Hincapié concluded that the results demonstrate that the coordinated work between the national Government and the lotteries strengthens a strategic sector that generates employment and regional development and provides resources to finance healthcare.
Tags: Coljuegos, Marco Emilio Hincapié, Colombian Lotteries Federation, territorial games