Colombia is a highly profitable region for the adult industry, largely due to the booming live cam industry, which ranks it high up in the multi-billion dollar global market alongside the likes of Romania. Unbeknownst to many, a search for the “Latin” category on many adult websites will bring up results with 98% Colombian models, according to our research, with the remaining 2% divided between Mexico and Brazil.
The “teen” niche is the most popular search in the country, followed by “big dick” and “lesbian.” The “hentai” and “anal” niches round out the top five most-viewed categories, according to a recent Pornhub insights report.
Colombia presents endless opportunities for entrepreneurs wanting to break into this highly lucrative market.
Why is Colombia so heavily represented in adult entertainment? First off, there’s no denying the beauty of local models. After all, when Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez was nearly crowned Miss Universe in 2015, she was offered $1 million dollars to do porn by Vivid Entertainment’s Steve Hirsch. Also, porn is largely unrestricted in Colombia compared to the rest of Latin America, making the country an ideal candidate for cam studio owners. Here’s a brief breakdown of legality in two neighboring countries:
- In Brazil, anyone producing or consuming pornography must be at least 18 years old.
- Strangely, depiction of many taboos that are considered obscene and illegal in North America is legal in Colombia as long as the material is not sold in public places. Furthermore, adult media cover art may not depict genitalia when sold in public.
- In Chile, adult entertainment was booming from the 1950s to the early ’70s until a coup d'état installed a military dictatorship that clamped down on the industry. Porn distribution has been heavily restricted since, though it’s beginning to ease up.
Now, while creating and selling adult entertainment is a popular career path in Colombia, it does come with some political baggage, since regulations against prostitution can often lead to mistreatment of cam models.
WHERE DOES COLOMBIAN TALENT COME FROM?
Colombia has long been home to brothels and other such establishments, but more and more citizens are signing up to become cam models as a safer alternative, capitalizing on demand. Additionally, recent COVID-19 restrictions have led new performers to connect with local studios to supplement or replace income lost during the pandemic.
WHO WATCHES COLOMBIAN ADULT CONTENT?
According to Pornhub, millennials are driving porn traffic in Colombia, accounting for 67% of viewers. Around 46% of them access porn via a smartphone, which is slightly less than the global average. A quarter of viewers are women, along the same lines as the worldwide average.
Alexa, a site that collects and analyzes web statistics, lists popular cam sites Chaturbate and BongCams among the most accessed in the region. For some perspective, Twitter ranks No. 27.
In addition to a solid viewing audience, Colombia boasts many actresses who are known across the globe: Bliss Dulce, Jamie Valentine, Isabella De Santos, Valerie Rios, Monique Fuentes, Melanie Rios, Esperanza Gomez, Veronica Leal, Franceska Jaimes, Ariella Ferrera and Canela Skin, to name a few.
E-COMMERCE IN COLOMBIA
In LATAM, Colombia has proven to offer one of the region’s most stable economies for the past 10 years. The online market is continually growing and is expected to hit a growth rate of 23% this year.
According to Statista, Colombia expects to have 22 million ecommerce consumers by year’s end, accounting for more than 60% of the country’s internet-using population. The Colombian ecommerce market ranks fourth among all Latin American countries.
Currently, Colombians prefer to pay for online goods and services using bank transfers (PSE banking system), cash and local solutions like Efecty, Baloto and SuRed. However, payment cards like Visa and Mastercard are continuing to experience growth in the online market. Visa leads the way with 50% of the card usage, followed by Mastercard at 40%, Diners at 5% and American Express at 5%. Cryptocurrency is also gaining traction in the country, with more than 3.1 million residents owning some form of it.
For cam studios entering the market, partnering with the right payment service provider and financial consultancy allows consumers to feel safe when making transactions for performances and content.
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COLOMBIAN LIVE CAM MARKET
Colombia presents endless opportunities for entrepreneurs wanting to break into this highly lucrative market, which is why understanding the region’s laws, taxes and regulations is a key component in establishing a successful cam studio. Rather than hiring various professionals to ensure a business is compliant with regulations, set up ideal financial structures and devise tax optimization strategies, studios can look to a single financial services partner that can navigate those complicated waters for them.
Ideal partners will strive to offer that type of consultancy to clients, along with directly providing high-risk payment processing and the ability to accept, and make payouts with, local e-wallets, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
With an estimated 30,000-plus live cam performers in Colombia, competition among studios can be intense. Studios that can promise their performers steady and timely payouts, via methods they trust, create a true competitive advantage. When finances and performer payouts are handled seamlessly by trusted services, studio owners can focus their energy and resources on growing their businesses.
Ilya Firsov has a background in the automotive, finance and various adult industries, with experience in sales, affiliate marketing and IT projects. He is currently the head of sales for Certus Finance and responsible for marketing and branding. With a strong background in high-risk processing, the ability to process for companies in the U.S., EU and other regions sets Certus apart in Australia and around the world.
