Colombia's highest administrative court has put a hold on a 2023 resolution from Coljuegos that set rigorous advertising, sponsorship, and promotional requirements for online gaming operators. Among the suspended measures is a cap on advertising spending, limiting operators' marketing budgets to 20% of their gross gaming revenue. The court found that these financial constraints infringed on economic freedom and determined that Coljuegos did not have a clear statutory basis for enforcing such limitations through an administrative resolution.
This interlocutory ruling does not dismiss the provisions outright but pauses their enforcement while a final decision is pending. The judicial review was initiated by private claimants Juan Carlos Calvo Ospina and Juan Pablo Cardona González and is currently underway.
The court suspended four significant provisions from the 2023 Resolución No. 20231000019054 gambling regulation after concluding that Coljuegos had overstepped its legal authority in various aspects. This included the stipulation requiring operators to submit annual advertising plans and detailed quarterly records, which the court deemed an unjustified intrusion into commercially sensitive information without explicit legal authority.
Additionally, several sanctioning provisions were suspended, which had prohibited concession contracts for companies using unauthorized trademarks or linked to illegal operators, as well as imposing fines and the potential termination of contracts for repeated violations. A provision that required concessionaires to obtain prior approval from Coljuegos before selling shares in their businesses was also partially suspended.
Despite this ruling, several of Coljuegos’ regulations remain enforceable, such as the requirement for clear disclosure of authorized operators. Coljuegos’ Gerencia de Control de Operaciones Ilegales can still utilize statutory mechanisms to tackle illegal gaming providers and has the mandate to enforce transparency in advertising while pursuing illegal operators under its statutory powers.
In its decision, the court summarized that the advertising investment cap limits economic freedom without legal authorization, noting that Coljuegos established a sanctioning regime that requires proper legal backing. It also mandated that disclosure of itemized invoices and contracts demands access to confidential business data, which exceeds Coljuegos’ powers.
The court based its decision on three constitutional principles. It acknowledged that while Coljuegos has broad authority over Colombia's state monopoly on games of chance, only the legislature can enforce measures that significantly affect economic freedoms or generate monopoly revenues. Additionally, it asserted that the establishment of offenses and penalties falls under government policymakers' exclusive authority. Furthermore, the importance of protecting commercial confidentiality was emphasized, recognizing advertising investment plans, invoices, and supplier contracts as commercially sensitive information.
This ruling considerably limits Coljuegos’ immediate ability to enforce specific advertising caps and sanctioning measures against online gaming operators in Colombia. The sector has become an increasingly vital source of public revenue during President Gustavo Petro’s administration. Earlier this year, Coljuegos reported that gaming operators have contributed over COP4 trillion (approximately $970 million) to the country's healthcare system since 2022.
Simultaneously, online operators face a host of new tax measures, which include a temporary 19% VAT on player deposits set for 2025 and a more recent 16% levy on online gambling deposits to aid in flood recovery efforts and the 2026 national budget.
The Council of State is expected to issue a final decision regarding the annulment petition in due time. If the court completely annuls the contested provisions, Coljuegos would need explicit legislative authority to reintroduce similar measures.
