Colombia’s gaming regulator Coljuegos has shared the financial figures for the first quarter of 2022, a period in which the local industry saw record revenues of $44.1m, or a 17% increase when compared to the previous year.

According to the President of Coljuegos, César Augusto Valencia, casinos and bingo halls contributed $19.4m, while online gambling was responsible for $12.9m of the total revenue. Baloto, Super Astro and promotional games contributed $4.5m, $7.4m and $259k, respectively

Gross sales also increased by 54% when compared to 2021 and reached the $3.7m figure, which “shows an excellent start of the year and the good performance that games of luck and chance are experiencing in Colombia.”

As for casinos and bingo halls, they totalled $2.2m in sales, while the online sector generated $1.4m, mainly driven by sports betting, virtual slots, live casino and virtual roulette.

“The money sent to the Health sector from the gambling industry in the first quarter totaled $69.2k, a record figure for this quarter, which represents a 242% increase when compared to the same period in 2021. It’s also 4% higher than what was expected for this quarter,” Coljuegos explained

According to Valencia, the gambling industry is committed to the reactivation and economic sustainability of the country.

And he said: “At Coljuegos, we will continue promoting the diversification of the gambling portfolio, the fight against illegality throughout the Colombian territory and the technological modernization to achieve more efficient processes, which will allow us to continue consolidating ourselves as one of the most important economic sectors in Colombia.”

“We invite all Colombians to play in this legal and responsible entertainment activity, they can choose from any of the halls or online sites authorized by Coljuegos. Each resource generated from this industry contributes to financing the Health sector in Colombia.”