From Mexico to Brazil and Argentina: GAT Academy toured regulatory scenarios and gaming data in Latam

Cartagena, April 28, 2025 (GAT) - With a judicious analysis supported by figures, the GAT 2025 Academy, which today became a summit of all the verticals of the sector, allowed 300 attendees in person and a captive audience on streaming platforms, to learn about the situation, trends, challenges and opportunities of this dynamic sector of the Latin American economy.  

The academic day of GAT Expo Cartagena 2025 was consolidated as the main space for analysis and updating of technology and entertainment in the region. From 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the Las Américas Convention Center hosted a full agenda of conferences and panels led by 40 national and international experts.

The president of Coljuegos, Marco Emilio Hincapié, highlighted the moment the industry is going through in Colombia: “never before has the gaming sector had such a positive behavior. This is due, to a great extent, to the efforts of the National Government in matters of regulation, control of illegality and modernization”. In addition, Hincapié highlighted that, during this government, $2.4 trillion have been transferred to health, consolidating the sector as a key engine of the economy and social welfare. Precisely, the growth of the industry was driven by the games operated by Internet, “a sector that, only between January and March 2025, has transferred $118,571 million to the subsidized health regime”.

Regarding the distribution of revenues, Coljuegos projects that in 2025 internet gaming will represent 44% of revenues, followed by localized gaming with 35%. The online sector also reported more than 11 million active accounts and a 32.18% growth in bets between March 2024 and March 2025.

On the other hand, Fecoljuegos, one of the guilds in Colombia, opened the agenda with Evert Montero Cárdenas and Juan Manuel Ramírez, who, based on the study of a prestigious university, presented a deep analysis of the impact of the recent tax measures applied by the Colombian Government to online betting, a very controversial topic in the last months. “It is not only the businessmen and the gaming guilds and Fecoljuegos who are calling the attention on the effects that the industry has with the imposition of the 19% VAT, there is a validator which is the Universidad del Rosario; for us this is a guarantee and allows us to go ahead and invite other academies, invite other centers of thought to join us, to review what is happening with all these measures that are being taken, putting at risk a key sector of the economy and an industry which is crucial for the contributions it provides, mainly to the health system of the country”.

GAT Expo: axis of business and tendencies in the American continent.

In the GAT Academy there was also space to talk about the probable new federal law of games and sweepstakes in Mexico, where on August 27 and 28 GAT Events will be present with its first event in Mexico City. Other topics discussed were the new regulation in progress in Puerto Rico, the vision of the different gaming modalities in the region, the investment opportunities in the Caribbean, the future of physical lotteries in El Salvador, Argentina, Loterías de Cundinamarca, Boyacá and El Valle in Colombia, as well as the leading role of associations such as CIBELAE in Ibero-America and Fedelco in the host country of GAT Cartagena. Cornazar, another important Colombian reference, headed by Elizabeth Maya Cano, presented corporate social responsibility proposals focused on the environment and the sustainability of the ecosystem.

The revolution in virtual betting in retail points in Colombia and the female leadership in the industry, had their own segments in the afternoon. Fernando Calderón, President of SONAJA, also used facts and figures, exposing the moments of expansion and contraction of the Peruvian market, both in physical casinos and in online and retail betting, highlighting errors in the application of the selective consumption tax ISC, in that country.

GLI, one of the most important certification laboratories worldwide, made a regulatory tour country by country in Latin America, highlighting the most relevant aspects of each jurisdiction. IGT Play Digital surprised with Viviana David and John Néstor Chiquiza, showing how to build player loyalty beyond promotions. Data analytics was the central theme of the intervention of Daniel Arias, regional director of Amusnet, who presented the keys to maximize the performance of physical casinos by obtaining and classifying information on player behavior.

Esports were also protagonists, analyzing the unique moment that this discipline is experiencing in Colombia with the approval of the law that includes them within the National Sports System and that will allow the creation of clubs, leagues and federations.

Juan Carlos Restrepo, President of Asojuegos, an entity that groups more than 60% of the legal operators in Colombia, closed the academic session of GAT Expo in the late afternoon. The executive presented his vision of the current state of the industry, highlighting the contributions it makes in terms of taxation, employment generation and corporate social responsibility. He stated that the way out of conflicts is through consensus and that there is no better vehicle to reach agreements than listening to the associations as authentic spokespersons of the reality experienced by the country's legal operators.

The programming of GAT Expo Cartagena 2025 will continue today, Tuesday, April 29, with the official opening of the exhibition in stands starting at 2:00 p.m., where more than 70 global brands will present their latest innovations in products and services for the gaming, betting, lotteries and entertainment sector in general. Likewise, the official announcement of the GAT Esports-Comité Olímpico Colombiano- Colombian Official Esports alliance will be made during the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which will be attended by Ciro Solano Hurtado, President of the Colombian Olympic Committee. This is a collaboration agreement that will promote the realization of stops and tournaments in different modalities of electronic sports in local, regional and international competitions, with a view to Colombia's participation in the 2027 Esports Olympic Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

GAT Expo Cartagena will run until the evening of Wednesday, April 30.

The organization is grateful for the sponsorship of the firms linked to the successful GAT Cartagena 2025 academy: Pragmatic Play, Altenar, IGT Play Digital and GLI.

GAT Expo Communications Department.