More delays on Mexican online gambling laws

Mexico’s sweeping gambling changes, which embrace online gambling, are unlikely to be implemented until late 2018 (and maybe beyond that) as the politicians continue to wrangle over the content of the Law of Games and Sweepstakes.

So said Miguel Sanchez, who heads up the rather ponderously named operator trade association La Asociación de Permisionarios Operadores y Proveedores de la Industria del Entretenimiento y Juego de Apuesta en México, (AIEJA), in an interview with local media recently.

He explained that the bill remains bogged down in the Senate (it passed the lower House in late 2014) and is unlikely to emerge before the legislative season ends in August next year and is followed by national elections.

Sanchez stressed the need for federal oversight to ensure consumer protection, ameliorate the risk of individual Mexican provinces burdening operators with local taxes, and generally making the land and online gambling market in the nation a more regulated and controlled place.

He reminded lawmakers that gambling firms already contribute the equivalent of US$300 million a year in taxes, and directly employ around 35,000 Mexicans, a figure which almost trebles when indirect employment figures are considered.

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