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Colombia – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
Colombia, like a lot of South American countries, has a bit of an ambiguous relationship with gambling. Gambling is very popular in the country, and physical casinos are legally allowed provided they are operating with the correct license. Online gambling, however, is strictly prohibited. The governing body that manages gambling in the country does not regulate online gambling too strictly though, and as a result, there are a lot of international unlicensed casinos operating in the country that players can gamble at. The same rules also apply to sports betting, with players being able to bet at shops in person but not online. Once again, this is not strictly enforced and there are many sportsbooks available.
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Find the Best Colombia Casino Online
The lack of enforcement from the Colombian government means that there are hundreds of international and unlicensed casinos operating within the country. Of course, this means that finding a casino to play at can be a little bit of a mine-field. Playing at an unlicensed casino is always going to be a risk, but there are several questions and factors you can consider to reduce that risk significantly. When we are judging casinos here at GoodLuckMate, we tend to ask the following questions:
- Does the casino allow players from Colombia to open an account?
- What safety measures have been taken by the site?
- Does the casino work with trusted software developers?
- What games are available on the site?
- What currencies are accepted at the casino? Do they accept cryptocurrencies?
- Are they reputable user reviews available for the casino online?
- Are players from Colombia able to take part in welcome bonuses and other promotions?
Here at GoodLuckMate, we believe in making our readers’ lives as easy as possible. We have spent hours going through lots of different online casinos and compiling detailed reviews so that our readers don’t have to. Our reviews check to see if a casino is safe to play at, as well as providing an in-depth analysis of their games collection, their bonuses and promotions, and more.
Gambling Regulation – Coljuegos
The governing body that controls all gambling legislation in Colombia is the Coljuegos. In order to open a casino in the country, you must first obtain a license from these. The gambling act of 2001 states that physical casinos, the lottery, dog racing, sports betting, bingo, and certain forms of online betting are legal. The online betting that is legal tends to be online lottery sites that are licensed by the Coljuegos, all other types of online gambling sites are illegal.
The Coljuegos have made attempts in the recent past to clamp down on online gambling, but many unlicensed international casinos still operate in the area. Playing at these casinos carries a considerable degree of risk. This is because players are not going to be protected by any sort of jurisdiction. This means, in theory, if you were to run into a problem with your money at a casino, then it could be very difficult to get it back or to make a claim. It is unlikely that this would happen though as casinos rely on customers returning to make more money.
Localized Online Casinos
With the law stating that is illegal to gamble online in Colombia, it is unlikely that a casino is going to be targeted at this audience. That being said, there is a range of online casinos that will operate in the country without a license, and many of these will be available in Spanish, which is the first language of the country. Many online live dealer games will be available in Spanish and there will also be live support offered in the language in many cases.
Many of the casinos that operate in the country will allow players to claim welcome bonuses and other promotions but players should be sure to check if there are any restrictions in place beforehand. The only real issue that Colombians are likely to encounter is finding a casino that will accept players from there.
Gambling with the Colombian Peso
Gambling online is illegal in Colombia, and as such, you are not going to find any online casinos that allow players to make deposits in the local currency, the Colombian Peso. Many international casinos will use EUR, USD, CAD, AUD, and other popular currencies. One option that has become increasingly popular for players in Colombia is cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This type of currency is becoming more and more common at casinos and is not currently regulated in any way or prohibited in Colombia.
Casinos in Colombia
Gambling in Colombia is very popular and there is a selection of top casinos to choose from throughout the country. Bingo is another popular pastime and there are bingo halls available that are regulated by the Coljuegos. These are very popular in the country. As well as this, Colombia is famously a passionate sporting nation and as such, sports betting is also very popular there.
Online casinos and sports betting in the country are illegal and are not regulated by the Coljuegos. As a result of this, if players want to play at online casinos, they must do so on sites that are operating without a gambling license. If you choose to play at a casino that does not have a gambling license, then you must be aware of the fact that you are not protected under any jurisdiction and that if you run into any problems with money, then you may find it difficult to get it back. As such, if you do plan on using an unlicensed casino, we recommend you find a site that is recommended by GoodLuckMate and make sure you do your research beforehand. Many of the casinos, despite operating without a license, will still be able to offer players a wide selection of different gaming options including slots and table games, some of them may also have a sportsbook.