Through a statement, Asogames and Fecolgamesunions that bring together the main companies in the gambling sector in Colombia, categorically rejected the insinuations made by the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, about alleged pressure on the Congress of the Republic during the discussion of the financing bill .
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“Our purpose has been to report in a transparent and well-founded manner on the serious economic and social impacts that these measures would generate in a formal and regulated industry. If this is considered pressure, then we are seeing our right to participate democratically and to expose the disastrous consequences that this change in rules would bring, not only for our sector, but also for the contributions to the health of Colombians.”stated Juan Carlos Restrepo, president of Asojuegos.
For his part, Evert Montero, president of Fecoljuegos, highlighted the efforts made by the unions to clarify the operation of the activity: “We have carried out a series of negotiations with the National Government, including meetings with the Dian and with the Third Commission of the Chamber of Representatives, to explain in detail the mathematical and economic model of the sector. Our objective has been to correct erroneous figures that do not reflect the reality of the industry and contribute to informed decision making.”.
According to the representatives of these two unions, There are three concerns regarding the reform that is being proposed. The first is about the tax on the online gaming segment with VAT, the second is the increase in the presumptive VAT rate on localized games, and the occasional profit differential rate of 25%.
“The proposal to apply VAT to the online gaming segment would seriously affect its competitiveness compared to platforms that operate outside Colombian jurisdiction. While globally players receive a return between 90% and 96%, in the country this range would decrease to levels between 72% and 78%, encouraging migration to foreign platforms. This segment, regulated since 2016, has contributed more than 1.2 trillion pesos to the health system and has energized industries such as sports and the media.“said Evert Montero.
Likewise, he highlighted that doubling the presumptive VAT rate from 20 UVT to 40 UVT would represent a setback in the formalization of the sector. “In the last five years, nearly 40,000 machines that were operating illegally have been legalized. This tax change would put these achievements at risk.”
Finally, Juan Carlos Restrepo, president of Asogamesstated that the differential rate of occasional profit of 25% would increase the tax burden of the sector and encourage marginalization and illegality, contradicting the efforts made to comply with current regulations.What we are doing is providing the technical and legal elements necessary to demonstrate that a measure of these characteristics withers the sector.”, concluded Restrepo.
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