Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of the Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos, has expressed optimism that keno will soon be regulated in the country. The regulator had announced in June that it aimed to regulate a vertical that has been offered illegally until now.

Hincapié said that Coljuegos is in the process of preparing pre-contractual documents ahead of a public tender. The regulator plans for tickets to be issued using blockchain technology in order to make them traceable. 

Hincapié said: “To ensure transparency in the process and the plurality of providers, the board of directors of Coljuegos has left open the possibility of having one or more keno operators in one or more regions of the national territory. We hope that, in the next few months, this game can be offered to players.”

He added: “This will be the first game in Latin America to feature blockchain technology in ticket issuance. With this, we will be able to guarantee that all transactions and bets are verifiable and traceable, eliminating concerns about manipulation of identification codes and transactions made during bet processing.”

The regulator estimates that regulated keno could reach sales of over COP2.8bn (€628,649) in five years, allowing the transfer of over COP485m (€108,000) to the health service. Operators will pay tax of between 15 and 17 per cent and a 1 per cent administration fee. Players would be able to buy tickets both online and from retail outlets. They would be able to bet between COP1,000 (€0.20) and COP20,000 (€4.50) for a maximum win of up to COP1.68bn (€377,000).

Hincapié said: “We are changing the history of the entity. The issuance of regulations for new games such as keno, as well as the fight against illegality, has allowed us to increase the resources that are transferred to health. We hope that, by the end of the year, we will exceed COP1.2bn (€269,000) in transfers.”

In 2017, Colombia became the first country in Latin America with a regulated online gambling market.

In May, Coljuegos proposed the creation of an Ibero-American environmental lottery. Running in multiple countries in Latin America, the lottery would raise funds to tackle the impact of climate change. Hincapié made the proposal at the eighth Ibero-American Gaming Summit in a panel discussion on the future of gaming in Colombia and Latin America.