Illegality is under the scrutiny of Coljuegos

Interview with the President of Coljuegos - Mr. Rodrigo Vélez...

One year and two months after starting operations, Coljuegos (the state owned company in charge of administering the financial gaming monopoly) it presents a balance with its main results. We spoke with Rodrigo Velez, the present about the challenges and first results of the entity.


- What have been your objectives since you took the presidency at Coljuegos?

We have posed a three axis strategy. The first one is to increase the finances that the nation receives, product of the gaming industry; second, to build an entity capable of generating value and making the difference; and third, helping to develop the gaming sector in the country, increasing the standards of this industry to increase the gambling consumers’ confidence and to generate conditions of transparency and legality which allow the sustainability and productivity of the sector.

With all of this, the goal of Coljuegos is to multiply 2.6 times the rent the nation receives from national and territorial gambling, destined to financing public health. In 2012, transference of national and territorial gambling reached $589,000 billion pesos.


- How is Coljuegos doing in its objective of increasing the Nation’s income?

We have a good balance. In 2012 the indicators of exploitation rights (resources which are collected for health) had a positive behavior. The collection increased 15% and the transferences increased 27% in respect to last year. All of this in the midst of implementing Coljuegos as a new entity which took over the functions of not only ETESA, but also DIAN, the National Health Superintendence and the former National Gaming Council.

We have had advances in our strategic plan which made possible these results. An example of this was the authorization of an additional Baloto draw, known as Revancha, which allowed increasing the exploitation rights in 2% in the first six months of operation.


- What are your plans to combat illegality?  

The entity received the function of combatting illegality from DIAN in September 2012 and dedicated the first six months to set up a team highly specialized in these tasks, with robust processes which give it solidness to the administrative sanction acts of the entity.
We began controlling illegality three months ago, and today we have convincing results: 1071 machines withdrawn and 1525 bingo chairs dismantled in the Center-West part of the country and in the Caribbean Coast. We are going to destroy the first park of confiscated machines, just as the law orders.

The message is clear: illegal gambling exploitation is a crime which is drastically punished by the law, with sanctions such as the inability to operate them, multi-million pesos fines and penal processes for the responsible persons.