Colombia gives live dealer games the thumbs up

Late last year Colombia became the first country in Latin America to pass laws regulating online casino games.

Since then, licenses have been issued and a handful of operators now have the all clear to advertise and offer their games to Colombian residents. Those games, it has now been made expressly clear, can include live dealer tables.

Earlier this week the Colombian gaming regulator (Coljuegos) issued the decree that live blackjack, baccarat and roulette can all be offered by licensed operators. The move is apparently part of efforts to make the locally licensed industry competitive with all those sexy foreign offerings stealing players from local, tax paying casinos.

Efforts to make licensed operators more competitive weren’t just limited to their casino games. The decree also flagged Coljuegos’ intent to reach agreement with other jurisdictions where online poker had been legalize, to allow for shared poker player pools to boost liquidity.

Other moves to ensure the financial viability of their fledgling eGaming industry have been consistent with what we’ve seen in other countries. The same month the first license was awarded (June 2017 to Medillin-based and Microgaming powered Wplay.co) Coljuegos also announced it had compiled a list blackjack of 325 gambling sites which it would be asking local ISP’s to block locals from being able to access.