After having declared void three times the bidding process held by Coljuegos to grant the Baloto operation as a concessionthe authority awarded this contract for five years to Promesa de Sociedad Futura Operador Nacional de Juegos SAS
(You can also read: The figures of the Baloto in its more than 20 years of history in Colombia)
With this, one of the most important games in the country will change administrators for the first time since it was created. The company that had been in charge of its operation since its inception in 2001 was the IGT Games company.
However, on this occasion he assured that the percentage of 32.5 percent of the exploitation rights that he transfers by law to the health sector was not financially viable for him. For this reason, he proposed to reduce it to 22 and 23 percent so that the game would stop generating losses.
Finally, the offer made by Promesa de Sociedad Futura, the one that managed to win the contract, was better. He proposed a percentage of 26 percent of the exploitation rights. With this, they hope to generate contributions to health of 50,000 million annually for a total of 250,000 million pesos in the five years of the contract.
Who is the new operator?
The company that will start operating the Baloto from next May 25 is made up of the Gelsa Group and Redcolsa. The first is present in Bogotá and Cundinamarca and the second in Valle del Cauca.
Gelsa has been present for two decades through the commercialization of more than 400 solutions in games, recharges, payments, transfers, banking correspondent, insurance and other services. In addition, it owns the Paga Todo brand. For its part, Recolsa has its trademark Gane.
The new operators will be formed as a legal entity that will be called the National Gaming Operator.
(Also, read: Baloto Colombia: for the first time in 23 years, the game changes administrator)
Will the splice take the game off the air at some point?
No, the new operator says there would be no interruption of the game. The current concession contract of the IGT company ends on May 24 and Promesa de Sociedad Futura expects to start the management on May 25. For this, they say that they will work at full speed to be able to adapt the system.
In that sense, from Coljuegos they said that they will carry out all the necessary actions to allow the new contract to be carried out in an agile way.
Will it continue to have a presence throughout the country?
The new operator is committed to reaching 1,122 municipalities and special districts in the country. They will do this through a network that will be made up of more than 73,000 terminals nationwide. In turn, they will have strategic allies in each department.
Will there be price changes?
Currently, for 5,700 pesos, the player bets on a multimillion-dollar jackpot of 4,000 million pesos by choosing 5 numbers from 1 to 43 and a super ballot with numbers from 1 to 16 through a sales terminal. In addition, with those same numbers and with an additional amount of 2,100 pesos, he plays for Revancha, which offers an initial multimillion-dollar jackpot of 1,000 million pesos.
According to Julio César Andrade, legal representative of the National Games Operator, the Baloto will have the same prices at the start and the same accumulated.
(You can also read: The new rules that Baloto should have in order to survive)
Will there be changes to the game?
With the change of operator, many bettors are wondering if there will be changes in the current dynamics of the game. Andrade says that they will seek to boost the product with different promotions in the initial months. Also, future new game mechanics are planned.
“One of the novelties that this contract brings is that it gives the operator the opportunity to streamline the product. We had observed a certain discouragement in the market, so in this new stage with a series of promotions, some of them with a charge and others not, we will stimulate the sale of the product”, he pointed out.
Will anything change for the people who sell in Baloto in stores, drugstores and other surfaces?
According to Andrade, one of the variables that they will have to review is the issue of commissions to collaborators. According to the company representative, they hope to reach some agreements in order to further stimulate the sale of the product.
Some of the companies that sought to keep the Baloto said that it was economically unfeasible, what has changed?
The offer made on the exploitation rights of Promesa de Sociedad Futura was 26 percent, the highest of those presented.
With this percentage, they expect to have sales of 1.3 million pesos in the next 5 years and with this they would be transferring some 250,000 million pesos to the health system, that is, about 50,000 million pesos a year.
“Hand in hand with the promotions and marketing that we are going to do, we hope to increase these resources for health, making a much more attractive product for Colombians and with more possibilities of winning,” he said.
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How many resources have been transferred to health?
In total, more than 1.4 billion pesos have been transferred since the game’s creation and only last year the sum reached about 82,162 million pesos between the two.