Newgioco secures first virtuals licence in Colombia

Newgioco Group subsidiary Virtual Generation has become the first supplier to be approved to offer virtual sports content in the regulated Colombian igaming market.

The country’s gambling regulator Coljuegos has approved Virtual Generation to distribute its products for use on desktop, mobile and tablet devices, allowing its clients to roll out the games with immediate effect.

“Colombia remains at the forefront of online igaming and sports betting regulation in Latin American countries,” Newgioco chief executive Michele Ciavarella said. “Reaching this regulatory accomplishment in such a short period of time is made even more rewarding considering the ongoing logistical challenges due to the global health and economic crisis.”

Virtual Generation’s Colombian team was able to ensure its products were fully compliant despite the social distancing restrictions in place, Newgioco added.

Ciavarella noted that the suspension of live sports and boosted interest in virtuals and esports. Virtuals, he said, provided an experience that came closest to replicating the live sports viewing experience.

“We continue to strive to provide entertaining, feature-rich products and caring customer service during this sensitive time and are very proud of all of our teams accomplishments.”

Coljuegos modified Colombian regulations late in 2019 to allow licensed igaming operators to launch virtuals. Previously they had only been available via land-based channels, with Inspired Entertainment partnering national lottery operator Corredor Empresarial and land-based business Gentec, a subsidiary of Betancur Group.

News of Virtual Generation’s licence comes after Coljuegos last week announced gave operators the green light to offer live dealer games for the first time. Operators will be able to broadcast table games from locations around the world to Colombian customers, provided all games comply with the regulator’s technical specifications.