In Colombia, the Illegal Operations Control Management division (COI) of Coljuegos has seized 112 illegal gaming devices from the Cordoba Department and Valle del Cauca Department.
The Director of COI Ramirez Payares stated that operations will continue to be conducted in all parts of the country to achieve the goals of the organisation for the year.
He said: “We will keep working and using different strategies in order to achieve the specified goal for 2023. But at the rate that I intend to, we will be capable of exceeding and reaching historic seizure numbers.”
Payares stated that the operation affected a number municipalities. Lorica, in the Cordoba Department, and Roldanillo y Sevilla in Valle del Cauca were among them. The COI carried out the operations with the local police and court representatives.
Investigators discovered that the raided sites owed Col$1.79bn (£400,000/ £300,000/ EUR380,000/ USD400,000) in unpaid machine gambling taxes. Taxes for illegal bingo were also due by the unlicensed operations.
The $2,17bn will go to the Colombian Health System.
Payares said: “Coljuegos calls on all those who operate illegal games of chance and luck to adhere to the regulations. The goal of these operations is legality.
Coljuegos will transport and store confiscated machines before they are destroyed.