According to Ochoa Sanchez, the new bill will probably not be passed during the
remainder of the six-year Presidential term. General elections are scheduled to
be held in Mexico in July 2018.
AIEJA’s President criticised the government for not doing more to address the
issue which has led to a chaotic gaming landscape. "Lawmakers ask for reports
on why things are happening in the states, what are the issues when it comes to
casinos. Instead of asking they should do their jobs, they have important
legislation on their hands,” he said.
Ochoa said that because of the way casino legislation has been dealt with so
far that it will be very difficult for the law to be approved during the
remainder of the six-year Presidential term, and said that no more gaming
centres can be opened as the government has not granted any more permits. This,
he said, was a direct result of the General Directorate of Games and
Sweepstake’s (DGJS) policy of reviewing the current legal status of gaming
rooms venues are already open rather than granting new licences.
In addition while the Senate delays, local governments in states such as Nuevo
León, Sinaloa and Quintana Roo are unfairly increasing taxes on gaming
companies.
The Lower House approved the new Federal Betting and Raffles Law in December
2014. The new law aims to regulate the gaming industry more efficiently,
safeguard the rights of players and make the licensing process more
transparent. However, after it was sent to the Senate it quickly became stalled
in the committee stage. This is despite a number of calls for the bill to be
pushed forward.
In early 2016 Head of Mexico’s Interior Ministry Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong
urged senators from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and
their close allies from The Ecological Green Party (PVEM) to pass Mexico’s new
gaming law quickly. The official said that the country was in need of a new law
which would more accurately reflect the reality of gaming in Mexico and which
would grant the government tighter control over the industry. In addition in
September 2016 Senator Luis Humberto Fernández Fuentes stressed that new
legislation was necessary as Mexico’s gaming laws were now obsolete due to the
ways that licences were being granted under present rules.
Source: GMB / G3 Newswire
