Colombia has officially welcomed Spanish gaming operator Codere as its newest online gambling licensee, while rumors swirl about Codere merging with Spanish rival Cirsa.

On Monday, Colombian gaming regulator Coljuegos officially announced that it had issued its fifth online gambling license to Codere, which is now taking sports wagers via the Codere.com.co domain.

Coljuegos noted that Codere has a long history in land-based operations in Colombia, with 33 years of experience running venues offering everything from electronic gaming machines, bingo and casino games.

Coljuegos says Codere Colombia SA paid just under US $7m for its five-year license, which is nearly twice the $3.7m paid by local operator Colbet, which received its Coljuegos approval in October.