Legislation
Mexico – Mexican stand off as opposition grows against Gaming Act
By Phil - 18 February 2016
A number of hotel and tourist associations have joined forces to criticise current proposals in the Senate which would allow for full scale casinos in Mexico.
In a statement which was published in a wide number of publications in national media this week opponents of the new Gambling Act said that it would “open up a Pandora’s box” and would leave Mexico vulnerable to corruption, money laundering, and would lead to an inevitable increase in organised crime.
A number of organisations including the National Chamber of Tourist Commerce (Concanaco Servytur) as well as some hotel associations as well as the National Union of Parents (Unión Nacional de Padres de Familia) raised a number of questions as to why none of the signatories have been consulted during the legislative process. They also questioned the business interests behind the new act and asked if Mexico was ready for new casinos if they are authorised.
Jorge Lara Rivera, ex Deputy for Legal and International Affairs at the Office of the Mexican Attorney-General’s office and one of the signatories of the complaint said there was a high level of concern when it came to the new law as it remains unclear under its present form just how money laundering will be prevented. He also said that the new law went against the wishes of many of those involved in the tourist industry. However the brunt of the criticism revolves around the inroads organised crime could make once the market is liberalised.
Mexican gaming law has now been earmarked as a matter of priority for the latest legislative session in the Mexican Congress which began on February 1st. Earlier this month the 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. Speaking at the opening of Eighth Plenary Meeting of the PRI and PVEM parties 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.
