Colombia records 13.8% online gambling participation among internet users

DataReportal places Colombia in the top 30 worldwide for online gambling participation. Among internet users aged 16 and over in the country, 13.8% take part in the activity. Within South America, only Brazil and Chile sit above it, a sign of how significant digital betting has become in the region.

The DataReportal table counts people aged 16 and older who use the internet, not entire national populations. South Africa tops it at 32.3%, with Norway next at 31.2%, so roughly a third of internet users in each place gamble online every month. Brazil's rate is 19% in South America, ahead of Chile on 16.6% and Colombia on 13.8%. South Korea sits at 2.7% at the bottom, followed by Vietnam at 5.7% and Taiwan at 6.5%. The report cautions that such rates say nothing on their own about total spending or market revenue.

Worldwide, online gambling brings in roughly $105 billion to $121 billion, the report estimates, which works out at about 39% to 42% of all money spent on gambling. As more people get online, the report adds, digital operators have been able to challenge traditional casinos, gaming venues and lotteries.

Citing figures credited to Coljuegos and Fecoljuegos, the report puts Colombia's annual gross betting volume at COP 34.5 trillion to COP 45 trillion, spread across more than 10.8 million active accounts. A handful of operators dominate: BetPlay holds about 51% of national activity and Wplay about 14%, the cited figures show.

Each country near the top of the DataReportal table regulates gambling differently, the report notes. In South Africa, online betting has grown quickly, with reported turnover of 1.1 trillion rand. Norway keeps a tight state-run model: Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto run the main activities, and the regime features compulsory loss limits, player monitoring and efforts to block foreign gambling platforms, with the blocking measures brought in during 2025.

Through August 2026, Coljuegos recorded COP 977.2 billion in gambling revenue for Colombia, up 39.38% on the same stretch of 2025. Online sports betting supplied COP 473.023 billion of that total, growing 84.24% over the first eight months as the 2026 FIFA World Cup drove activity. Since 2022, the regulator added, COP 7.2 trillion has gone to the country's subsidised healthcare system, funded by national and territorial gambling operations and by online gaming.