While land-based casinos continue to be prohibited in Mexico, a change in policy by the Mexican authorities has allowed for the introduction of gaming machines similar to US class III slot machines. Mexico has recently introduced technical requirements and testing obligations for slot machines.

Potential benefits from Mexico’s rapidly expanding gambling industry are being squandered because of the non-implementation of the 2004 law that welcomed many new operators to the market, participants at a meeting of Latin American gambling regulators in Monterrey concluded yesterday.

A new gaming law drafted by a cross-party grouping of Mexican MPs could be voted on in Congress by mid-2009. If approved, the draft bill would allow the installation of Las Vegas-style slot machines in Mexican gaming venues for the first time, but would also introduce a ban on payment processing for unlicensed internet gambling websites. GamblingCompliance presents an analysis of the draft bill’s key provisions.

Mexican media conglomerate and gaming operator Televisa is reported to have asked the Government’s permission to offer bingo games over terrestrial television channels. The company is also aiming to persuade the Government to amend plans to impose a new 20 percent corporation tax on gaming companies.

The Mexican Secretariat of Government’s (Segob) role in issuing gaming permits is to be investigated by the Federal Government’s auditing office. Segob has attempted to block the investigation in the country’s Supreme Court but remains under pressure as political attention is drawn to the number of remote betting centres and bingo outlets, licensed and unlicensed, that proliferate across the country.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has sent his long-awaited fiscal reform bill to the Mexican Congress for approval. If passed, it will impact important areas of the Mexican economy, including the gambling industry.

After an intense and brief discussion the Mexican Senate last week finally approved the tax reform bill proposed by Felipe Calderon’s Government. However, lawmakers amended some aspects of the bill that will have repercussions on the tax regime applicable to the gambling industry – including, potentially, foreign-based operators that accept bets from Mexico.

An additional 20 percent tax on gaming services proposed by the Mexican Government threatens to choke a much-anticipated boom in the Mexican gambling market.

Recent communications from the Mexican government have led certain gaming operators to believe that ‘Class III’, Las Vegas-style slot machines are legal in the country – although manufacturers with valuable suppliers’ licences in the US are proceeding with caution.

Politicians and operators are calling on the Secretary of Government to establish a firmer policy to tackle illicit gaming as the Mexican gambling industry looks back on a year of significant legal and market developments.