Coljuegos, Colombia's gambling regulator, released a record enforcement balance covering its efforts against illegal gambling during the current administration.
The regulator seized 12,852 illegal gambling devices across 24 of Colombia's departments through 514 enforcement actions carried out alongside the National Police, the Attorney General's Office and territorial authorities.
Coljuegos also destroyed 15,644 illegal devices, including electronic slot machines, betting terminals and roulette wheels, surpassing 15,000 destroyed devices for the first time in its history.
Marco Emilio Hincapié, President of Coljuegos, said: "Criminal organizations operating unauthorized gambling have never faced pressure like this before. We have dealt historic blows against illegal operators in the country's main cities. For this administration, no territory has been off-limits."
Hincapié said illegal gambling activity had prevented more than COP400bn ($124.4m) from reaching Colombia's health system, which relies on gaming revenue for funding.
The regulator also targeted online operations: it issued 58,916 orders to block websites operating or promoting illegal betting, including 437 social media profiles advertising unauthorized betting houses. More than 1,961 cases were referred to the Attorney General's Office after having remained stalled since 2017.
In addition, Coljuegos imposed 209 sanctions with a combined value of more than COP94.739bn for illegal gambling activities.
The results, according to Coljuegos, were supported by 56 legality agreements signed with mayors' offices, governors' offices, gaming operators, trade groups and chance lottery concessionaires aimed at strengthening institutional and territorial cooperation against illegal gambling.
Since 2022, Colombia's regulated gambling industry has transferred COP7.2trn to the healthcare system, including COP1.76trn from online gambling
