Colombian gambling regulatory chief steps down after five years
Coljuegos president Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo replaced amid political shift as anti-match-fixing committee agrees 2021 agenda
The president of Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos has stepped down from his role after almost five years at the helm of the Latam igaming jurisdiction.
Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo, who oversaw the country’s transition to a regulated online gambling environment in 2016, will be replaced by Colombian academic César Augusto Valencia.
Valencia currently serves as an administrator at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, having graduated from Pennslyvania’s Drexel University.
It comes after local media last month alleged Pérez had been asked to vacate the role for political reasons by Colombian Minister of Finance Alberto Carrasquilla Barrera.
Colombia’s online gambling market has grown exponentially since its launch in 2016 but has experienced a 30% year-on-year drop in revenue for the first nine months of 2020.
Elsewhere, the Colombian National Committee for the Prevention of Manipulation of Sports Competitions has met to agree its 2020-21 agenda, which included a call for integrity-based legislation to be introduced to combat match-fixing in Colombian sport.
The committee, which is made up of local associations Fecoljuegos and Asojuegos, as well as Colombian professional football league governing body Dimayor, agreed to lobby for the criminalisation of match-fixing as part of several initiatives.
In addition to calling for the criminalisation of match-fixing, the committee agreed to create data-sharing protocols to allow information exchange between unions, public authorities, sports organisations and sports betting operators.
Delegates also agreed to seek a partnership with the Colombian public prosecutor’s office and the country’s national police.
Finally, the committee reaffirmed its aim to promote education, awareness and training in combatting match-fixing, to be supported by a public education campaign backed by Colombian sports governing bodies and locally licensed gambling operators.
Read more about Colombian gambling regulation here.