Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos has published regulations governing the launch of live dealer online casino games in the country.
This comes after the regulatory body approved the legalization of the vertical in April.
Establishing Live Casino Market
Last month, the regulator allowed online gaming operators in Colombia to include live casino games in their online gaming offer.
Juan B Pérez Hidalgo, President of Colombian regulator Coljuegos, has revealed that a live casino vertical could start operations in June.
Authorization of a new form of online gaming – the live casino product is to help revive the online sector.
This, by extension, is a part of the plan to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in the sector. The revenue has fallen due to the suspension of all major sporting competitions. And this would ensure the sector was able to generate funding for the country’s public health system.
Players can place the bet through previously defined remote connection devices. The result is linked to a hand or play made by a dealer-dealer or a real live dealer.
The transmission is made from recording studios or commercial establishments intended for the operation of localized games. The president of Coljuegos Hidalgo says they “may be located within and/or outside the national territory.” However, he emphasizes that they need to comply with the technical requirements established by Coljuegos.
Each title must be certified by a testing house, and ensure a return to player rate of 83% over each year.
More Details
Coljuegos has carried out an impact assessment of the launch. And it concluded that there was little crossover between land-based and online players. This means that the rollout would have little impact on brick-and-mortar casinos.
Initially, there had been some opposition to the launch of live dealer from the land-based sector. However, the regulator argued that it would instead drive visitation to physical properties.
Furthermore, land-based casinos will be permitted to stream games such as roulette and blackjack live from their gaming floors. They can do this in partnership with online operators. Though, in-venue customers will not be permitted to play alongside online gamblers. On the other hand, venues that do not have any table games will also be able to offer live dealer content via terminals.
The legislation that facilitated the launch of iGaming happened in 2016. And the regulations, which modify it come into force once they are published in the government’s Official Gazette.
