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Coljuegos, Colombia’s national gambling regulator, has proposed a draft bill to tighten regulations on gambling machines. These slot machines, known as Máquinas Electrónicas Tragamonedas (METs), play a role in the licensed gambling sector of the South American country.
For any property to house or offer these machines, there is a process similar to most jurisdictions to make records and tax revenues transparent to the gambling regulator.
Coljuegos is drafting a new bill for tighter license regulations
The bill completed the public consultation and was signed by Marco Emilio Hincapié Ramírez, the CEO and President of Coljuegos.
According to draft billthose most affected by the reform will include casino and MET operators in Colombia, international machine manufacturers/distributors, and the Colombian government through tax and compliance regimes.
It appears that this is an attempt to introduce an “integrated protocol” for gambling license holders to create a record of accrued taxes, a breakdown of calculations, and transparent transfer of data, especially if a MET in the record is destroyed.
the Colombian regulator also playing devil’s advocate with gambling operators, offers a variable tax rate in exchange for clean, accessible tax reporting and payment. These clean reportage bills will also include machines linked to an electronic system (SCLM+, Colombia’s live monitoring system).
A penalty system will be put in place if a holder defaults, resulting in a fixed tax rate. It is triggered when a MET fails to meet certified standards, violates data transmission processes, or when any irregularities are found in inventory and record keeping.
The Colombian regulator is firm on the MET tax
If the penalty threshold is met, the draft bill says, a review period will be held to examine these irregularities.
This may include the reasons why the METs are not connected to the SCLM, and if the devices show zero profit or are used to balance a deficit, there may be enforcement measures against the license holder.
The proposed nationwide MET framework cleanup is expected to take effect by March 2026.
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The post Colombia’s gambling regulator has signaled stricter rules on gambling machines first appeared in ReadWrite.
