The online gambling sector in Colombia is about to get a major boost thanks to a new esports bill about to come into effect.
Known as Law Project 026 of 2024, the bill just passed the Colombian Senate and is now awaiting presidential approval. If passed, it will officially label esports a sporting discipline in the country, integrating it into Colombia’s National Sports System and, importantly for the gambling industry, allowing it to be bet on by regulated esports gambling providers.
Marco Emilio Hincapié, President of Coljuegos, the country’s gambling regulator, has publicly supported the bill, noting that it will diversify the betting industry and encourage growth in the regulated market, echoing the boom it’s having in the US.
“Esports now has legislative support,” Hincapié said. “We understand that this is both the present and the future, and we won’t be left behind in the face of technological progress.”
The future of esports in Colombia
The hope is that online gambling will bring new life to the Colombian betting sector, ideally through a young audience with an interest in tech and online betting. However, it doesn’t just stop at gambling, also offering guidance on creating esports clubs, leagues and federations, as well as allocating public funding to support cyber-athletes and talent development programs. Appealing to younger betters is a smart business strategy, but has issues of its own, as seen in the US.
As well as boosting the industry at home, supporters of the bill also hope that it would support Colombia in sending players to international competitions and raise the nation’s profile on the global sporting stage. Already between January and March 2025, Colombia’s licensed online platforms recorded more than 4.6 trillion pesos in bets, with bets stemming largely from sporting events, as reported by Esports Insider.
However, it’s not all good news for the gambling industry, with obstacles to revenue popping up like a new 19% VAT on online gambling deposits and concerns about driving players to unregulated markets. The bill aims to push regulated betting into the mainstream, in the hope of overcoming these roadblocks and sustaining ongoing growth.
Featured image: Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
