Codere Online will not be investing in the Colombian market unless the government rethinks its tax policy.
In February, the Colombian government implemented a temporary 19% value-added tax (VAT) on all online gambling deposits. Although initially only meant to last until 31 December, proposals from the Ministry of Finance now suggest it could be a permanent edition to the market.
“We’re not going to invest any further unless the tax will change. Our three-year and five-year plans do not include Colombia,” Moshe Edree, Codere Online’s Executive Vice Chair, told investors during the company’s Q3 earnings call.
Codere is already feeling the impact of the taxes on its bottom line.
The Spanish gaming group posted a 32% reduction in net gaming revenue for its other segment, consisting of Colombia, Panama and the city of Buenos Aires, primarily driven by a €1.4m decline in revenue from Colombia.
This figure mirrors a wider decline in real operating income for Colombia’s operators, despite deposits remaining stable.
Although downtrodden on its future within the Colombian market, Codere’s outgoing CFO, Oscar Iglesias, hinted that there may be a glimmer of hope as Colombia prepares for an election in May 2026.
He said: “It’s unclear what direction those elections will go. Even if [the tax] gets legislated, somehow you have more centrist or right-leaning parties come into power and unwind what has been a tax that has not been helpful in terms of reaching that objective of actually generating additional tax revenues for the government coffers.”
Iglesias’ ascertain that the tax has been counterproductive is backed by the figures.
In July, Colombia’s gaming regulator, Coljuegos, contributed just 23.1bn pesos (£4.7m), compared to 43.3bn pesos (£8.9bn) during the same month last year, representing a 46.6% drop.
Revenue from VAT on gaming deposits is expected to raise 1.6trn pesos (£327.4m). However, Colombia’s government may be forced to rethink its policy if this target is missed, paving the way back to profitability in a market that Codere currently struggles to “find a way forward that makes sense for us”.
Elsewhere, Codere reported stagnant net gaming revenue of €51.6m in Q3, as performances across its key markets of Spain and Mexico remained flat despite a 39% growth in monthly active players in Mexico.
The company also announced the appointment of Marcus Arildsson as its new CFO, while Iglesias is expected to join Codere’s Board, subject to the approval of shareholders.
