Illegal gambling equipment destroyed in Colombia

The Colombian gambling regulator has destroyed over 400 items of gaming equipment used to supply the illegal market.

The 445 items including slot machines, roulette wheels and televisions was worth nearly COP178m (£36,491).

During the destruction of the items, COP23.8m (£4,879) in coins and bills was discovered inside the slot machines, which is being transferred to Colombia’s health system.

Regulator Coljuegos’ president, Marco Emilio Hincapié, said: “These machines had been removed by the entity in 2021 and, since then, they were housed in various warehouses in the department of Antioquia.

“With the destruction of these elements,  we want to tell those who operate games of luck and chance without a concession contract that it is not worth being illegal.

“Our goal is to do what the Coljuegos administrations have not done during the last four years. The law obliges us that, once the confiscation processes are opened, we must destroy those elements.”