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The country’s gaming industry is moving into a new stage of maturity. Asojuegos, the national industry association of 35 companies operating in the sector of games of chance, is announcing the launch of its very first sustainability report, using the Global Reporting Initiative methodology. This is a fresh commitment to the values of openness, responsibility to people and to the planet, and accountability.
This enables Asojuegos to fit into an exclusive category of associations in Colombia that develop sectoral sustainability reports, an approach adopted by some associations such as Asobancaria and ANDI. This project was officially presented in the context of an aligning meeting of the guild, which brought together nearly 200 attendees from the managerial level, executive level, process leaders, and technical teams of the companies affiliated with the guild. During the session, the scope of the project, GRI standards, reporting methodology, and next steps were shared with members.
Thus, by using universally agreed reporting standards, Asojuegos aims to help construct an industrial vision capable of measuring, managing, and communicating the sectoral impacts of economic, social, and environmental changes.
A Natural Step in the Evolution of a More Transparent Industry
This milestone follows a long trail of strengthening institutions within Colombia’s gaming industry; from the legalization of “chance” games in 1982 to the creation of the sector’s Compliance Officers Committee 14 years ago, hit as been a transformation of stigmatization into credibility, as well as a significant contribution to the country’s social and economic development.
The Compliance Officers Committee, which was promoted by Asojuegos, was central to enhancing risk management practices, especially in the prevention of money laundering or financing terrorist activities. Over the years, companies have enhanced their compliance departments with advanced procedures, which laid the foundation for a secure transactional network.
Today, the sector comprises Colombia’s most prominent banking correspondent network and an ally in the efforts for financial inclusion in remote parts of the country.
“The strengthening of compliance deeply transformed our sector. Today we have solid and responsible structures that have allowed us to generate business through transactional networks and, above all, provide a very high-quality service to people in the regions. Now we take a new step: beginning the path of sustainability reporting to present ourselves to the country as a responsible and transparent industry”, said Juan Carlos Restrepo, President of Asojuegos.
Direct Benefits for Member Companies
In addition to this guild-level report, the initiative will help each of these companies organize and consolidate its ESG data in a much more structured manner. This is likely to improve both internal management and positioning before directors, partners, government entities, and stakeholders in general.
In clarifying what this process does not involve, it is stated by Asojuegos that there is “no lifting of the corporate veil and divulging of any proprietary ownership-related information.” Separate control is given to each company over its respective data, though trends, advancement, opportunities, and best practices will be collectively presented within a sector report.
This process will be accompanied by methodological and technological tools for the purposes of traceability, consistency, and order. With the implementation of the GRI framework, Asojuegos seeks to improve the management of guilds and identify potential opportunities, as well as build a factual story based on transparency and sustainability, where the sector has continuously demonstrated a commitment to strengthening credibility, governance, and overall contributions to Colombia.
Source: SBC Noticias
