Coljuegos issues Keno regulation and announces bidding process to select operators

The Board of Directors of Coljuegos, the regulatory entity of games of chance in Colombia, issued Agreement 07 of 2024, through which the regulation of the new type of game Keno is defined. The entry into operation of this new game is expected to transfer approximately COP 485.000 million ($121 million) for health in the next five years.

The entity explained that they are working on the elaboration of the documents that are part of the pre-contractual stage to open public bidding to choose the future operators of the game in the country.

"Keno is a millenary Chinese game that has been operating illegally in Colombia. However, with the issuance of this regulation, now these resources will enter the State to finance the subsidized regime," said Marco Emilio Hincapié, President of Coljuegos.

"To guarantee transparency in the process and the plurality of bidders, the board of directors of Coljuegos has left open the possibility that there may be one or several Keno operators in one or several regions of the national territory. We hope that, in the next months, this game can already be offered to the players," he added.

According to estimates, Keno is expected to reach sales in excess of COP 2.8 billion during the next five years. In addition, on total sales, operators will pay Coljuegos between 15% and 17% for operating rights, plus 1% for administration expenses. 

#Noticias | Con la entrada en operación de este nuevo juego se esperan transferir aproximadamente $485.000 millones para la salud en los próximos cinco años.👉🏻 https://t.co/udEP45zLbS pic.twitter.com/oNP1uG8gXh

— @ColjuegosCo (@ColjuegosCo) August 21, 2024

Game mechanism

In Keno, players must choose 10 numbers between 01 and 80, and confront them with the result of the 20 balls chosen by a Random Number Generator in each of the draws. Thus, the prizes will be paid according to the number of numbers matched by the player.

Players will be able to purchase tickets through physical points or digital marketing channels. Each bet can be COP 1,000 and a maximum of COP 20,000, and the maximum prize that a player can win will be up to COP 1,680 million.

"This will be the first game in Latin America that will have blockchain technology in the issuance of tickets. With this, we will be able to guarantee that all transactions and bets are verifiable and traceable, thus eliminating concerns about manipulation in the identification codes and transactions made during the processing of bets," explained the head of Coljuegos.

Another characteristic of Keno is the frequency of the draws since they will be carried out from Sunday to Sunday in a period of 6 to 10 minutes. Thus, there will be between 144 and 240 draws per day (depending on the frequency chosen by the operator) and they will be transmitted via streaming.

"We are changing the history of the entity. The issuance of the regulation of new games such as Keno, as well as the fight against illegality, has allowed us to increase the resources transferred for health. We hope that, by the end of the year, we will exceed COP 1.2 trillion in transfers," Hincapié concluded.