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Colombia President Gustavo Petro has signed Decree 1486, which will regulate raffles in the country.
The decree specifically allows for up to two raffles per month or 24 annually, a significant jump from the single one that is currently permitted.
Decree 1486/2024 also provides definitions for operators, managers and random number generators.
The decree expressly stipulates that raffles may be operated through third parties on technological platforms. That is an explicit reference to influencers who have conducted prize drawings on Instagram and other social media platforms, which have been the subject of a Coljuegos crackdown this year.
In the spring the organisation held specific training sessions for influencers who are being approached to promote raffles, to help them understand what is and is not legal in the country.
The expansion to 24 raffles is a direct result of the explosion of influencers who make money by promoting unregulated raffles on their platforms.
For third parties to promote raffles, they must now request authorisation from Coljuegos and pay the fee of 14 percent of gross income.
In a press release, Coljuegos cited the desire to raise money for public health for the new regulation.
“In short, this new decree seeks, on the one hand, to continue increasing transfers for health, which reached $1bn during 2024; and, on the other hand, to provide greater tools to exercise control over this type of gambling,” said the regulatory authority.
In late November, Coljuegos announced enforcement proceedings against 35 influencers for operating raffles and promotions on social media without proper permission.
One of the most famous influencers targeted was Javier Arias Castañeda, a motorcyclist who routinely gives away bikes and vehicles to his followers. The day after the announcement by Coljuegos, he was still promoting his raffles.
At the time, the president of Coljuegos, Marco Emilio Hincapié, said that the influencers were in violation of Article 312 of the Colombian Criminal Code and that this decree was coming shortly.
Hincapié fired off his first warnings to influencers over their unregulated promotion of gambling in August 2023, when he was freshly appointed. He said then that ignorance of the law would not spare them the consequences.
