Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has signed an emergency decree introducing a 16% tax on online gambling deposits. Consequently, this decision reverses a recent legislative victory for the industry and creates ideal conditions for user migration to unlicensed platforms.
The cost of the first experiment
First, the country already ran an identical experiment in 2025. Back then, a similar deposit tax caused the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of licensed operators to drop by 30%. Furthermore, some platforms reported a 50% decline in deposit volumes. Ultimately, the effective tax burden on legal businesses exceeded 70% of revenue, rendering competition with the shadow sector mathematically unviable.
Blask analytics clearly demonstrate the market shifts during that period (December 2024 to February 2025).
While legal companies were rapidly losing their audience — with licensed operator Wplay plunging 25%, Zamba falling 36%, and YaJuego dropping 38% — unregulated brands experienced explosive growth. Even the dominant market leader BetPlay, which commands a massive 58%bin the Colombia iGaming market, suffered a 13% decline. Conversely, the crypto-platform Stake, operating without a Coljuegos license, posted a phenomenal 979% YoY growth in the region.
Reversal and sudden return
Faced with the collapse of the legal sector, the industry successfully lobbied for a rule change. On January 1, 2026, Colombia shifted to a GGR-based taxation model. As a result, this move successfully reduced the effective rate to a competitive 34%.
However, these new equitable rules lasted exactly 10 weeks. Decree 0240 reinstates the deposit tax to help fund an emergency budget of COP 8.6 trillion ($2.3 billion) needed for flood recovery efforts. Therefore, the industry is suddenly back to square one.
Structural impact on the industry
Overall, the Colombia iGaming market is valued at approximately $540 million in annual Competitive Earning Baseline (CEB), with 118 active brands operating in the space. The return of the deposit tax means that every dollar a player deposits into a legal platform is instantly subjected to an additional fee. As a consequence, users will inevitably seek alternatives where their money doesn’t shrink during the deposit phase.
President Gustavo Petro’s term expires in May 2026. Ultimately, this attempt to urgently patch a budget deficit at the expense of local operators could inflict long-term structural damage on one of Latin America’s most mature regulated markets. While legal brands are preparing for new losses, the offshore sector is already primed to absorb their audience.
