Jaime Vives Pinedo Takes Over as President of Coljuegos

Coljuegos, the state-owned gambling regulator of Colombia, has appointed Jaime Vives Pinedo as its president. He was confirmed in office by Decree 1430 of 2026 and thus became responsible for the sector and its participation in public health care.

Read more Minnesota Timberwolves

Vives is a graduate of Universidad Santo Tomás, with a specialization in Senior Management from Universidad del Magdalena. He has over 30 years of management experience in production and commercial companies.

Illegal Gambling and Healthcare Revenue Among Key Priorities

Vives assumes the position at Coljuegos, with the aim of increasing the struggle against illegal gambling and ensuring the collection of exploitation rights. His job will also be to oversee various gambling activities in Colombia, both online and offline, and to try to raise more revenues for the country’s health care system.

“It is an honor to assume this role leading an institution that contributes millions in resources to the health of Colombians every year; my mission is to fight decisively against the scourge of illegality in this industry and increase revenues for our country’s subsidized healthcare system,” Vives said.

The appointment coincides with the fact that Coljuegos is reporting high gambling-related revenue for 2026. Collections made for the healthcare system grew by 39.38%, to COP 977.2 billion by August, compared to COP 701.191 billion in the same period of 2025.

Online Betting Leads Gambling Revenue Growth

Coljuegos said part of the rise was due to increased activity around the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The growth of online sports betting has been significant during the tournament period, and Colombia advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Switzerland on penalties.

Read more Tennis

The total revenue of online sports betting grew by COP 473.023 billion (84.24%) from January to August 2026. The figures point towards the increasing significance of the online gambling area in the regulated gambling business in Colombia, and show an important gambling business segment that should be supervised by Vives.

Gambling on land also witnessed growth during the same time. The collections from localized games grew 12.25% to COP 280.866 billion, from COP 250.217 billion in the first eight months of 2025.

Coljuegos Faces Challenge of Sustaining Growth

The latest figures show the increasing contribution of regulated gambling to Colombia’s healthcare financing. Coljuegos had accumulated COP 701.121 billion up to August 2025, so the 2026 figure is a significant year-over-year jump in the resources available to the subsidized healthcare system.

To maintain this growth and to improve enforcement will be key challenges for Vives. The new president will have to deal with a growing online gaming market as well as illegal operators and make sure that the legal operators fulfill their financial and regulatory requirements.

His administration starts, however, at a moment when gambling online and on land is bringing in more money for public healthcare. Coljuegos‘ role will be key to balancing the growth of the market and regulatory compliance with the harsh fight against illegal gambling, under the new leadership.

Read more Los Angeles Chargers

Source: SBC Noticias