Juan B Pérez Hidalgo, president of Colombian gaming regulator Coljuegos, has resigned from his post with immediate effect.

Coljuegos confirmed to SBC that Pérez Hidalgo’s last day in office was yesterday, while César Augusto Valencia, administrator of Universidad del Norte, would replace him as president of the regulator.

Valencia does not have experience in the public sector, although he has worked for many years in the private sector, most recently at Kappa Cartón de Colombia, where he became VP of the Central America and Caribbean region.

Under Pérez Hidalgo’s leadership, Colombia collected around $20min taxes in 2019, which were allocated to the health system. Additionally, between 2017 and September 2020, the 16 online gambling sites licensed by Coljuegos have raised $45.8m.

Pérez Hidalgo, who was in charge of the regulator for more than four years, was recently inducted to the Sports Betting Hall of Fame, in a virtual ceremony that took place at SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital.

SBC paid tribute to him, alongside some of the most influential people in the industry’s history, including former William Hill CEO Ralph Topping, for overseeing the online gambling regulation in 2016, the first of its kind in Latin America.

Since then, the market has experienced significant growth, prompting other countries in the region to follow Colombia’s example.