Coljuegos rolls out relief measures for operators hit by earthquake in Colombia

Coljuegos has issued Resolution No. 20260019544 to give affected operators, venues, points of sale, terminals and other elements some breathing room after the earthquake. For high-risk PSPs and gaming suppliers, the important part is simple: the regulator is creating temporary paths to avoid contractual defaults where the damage can be documented.

1. Coljuegos says the measures apply only to operators and assets that can prove direct impact from the seismic event. A drop in sales on its own is not enough to qualify for the benefits, which means the burden is on the operator to show actual earthquake-related damage.
2. For localized games, the regulator is allowing expedited or automatic transfers of affected elements from damaged premises to other authorized locations. It also allows a venue to remain temporarily as a “local en cero” (a site operating with no active elements) without losing authorization or triggering a contractual breach.
3. Operators have four months to replace or complete the minimum number of elements damaged or lost because of the earthquake. That period can be extended once if the causes of the disruption still persist. Coljuegos is also speeding up approvals for new establishments when existing ones have been destroyed, as well as authorizations for replacement equipment.
4. The idea is to let operators recover capacity gradually without losing the licenses and approvals already in place. In practice, that matters because a forced shutdown can turn into a licensing problem very quickly if the regulator does not provide a formal bridge.
5. For Internet-Operated Games (JOI), Coljuegos will keep the current schedules for transmission, reporting, declaration, settlement and payment as the general rule. Because online betting runs on centralized platforms, the regulator says exceptions will be reviewed case by case only when the operator can show a direct and material link between the failure to comply and the earthquake.

For operators and their payment providers, the distinction is the whole story: land-based venues get relief measures tied to physical damage, while online operations are expected to keep their reporting and payment calendars unless they can document a specific earthquake-driven obstruction. That is the sort of detail that decides whether a compliance issue stays temporary or becomes a contract problem.