The municipality of Guática has joined a regional initiative led by the Risaralda Lottery to formalize gambling activity and strengthen oversight across Colombia’s games of chance sector.
The agreement marks the eleventh “Pact for Legality” signed within the department, forming part of a strategy backed by Governor Juan Diego Patiño Ochoa to reduce illegal operations while protecting funds allocated to public healthcare.
Under Colombia’s regulatory model, lottery and gambling revenues contribute directly to financing health services, making enforcement a fiscal as well as regulatory priority.
Local authorities emphasised that the transition towards legality will be gradual. According to Mayor Ferney Castro Colorado, around 40 families in Guática currently depend on informal raffle sales as a source of income.
Rather than imposing an immediate ban, the municipality will prioritise education and structured pathways into regulated activity.
Officials also highlighted early signs of compliance, noting that at least one of the municipality’s most prominent raffle vendors has already begun the formalization process with the Risaralda Lottery.
The initiative involves coordination between municipal governments, law enforcement and national regulatory bodies, including Coljuegos, Colombia’s gambling authority, and the health sector watchdog SuperSalud.
Authorities said the pact will serve as a framework for monitoring local activity and demonstrating regulatory alignment at both regional and national levels.
Representatives from the lottery reiterated that the program is designed as a long-term process, combining enforcement with social considerations in areas where informal gambling plays an economic role.
The Risaralda Lottery has also launched a separate initiative in Marsella to expand lottery sales while supporting local entrepreneurship
