Mexico iPoker Regulation May Be Approved By Sept 20th

Mexico’s gambling industry may be on the brink of a major overhaul after the President of the Mexican Gaming Commission (AIEJA), Miguel Sanchez,  revealed a new online gaming bill will be introduced to the House of Representatives on September 9th and may be approved as early as
September 20th.
Up until now, the USA’s southern neighbour has relied upon the Federal Law of Games and Raffles of 1947 to regulate its gambling industry, despite the fact there exists confusion as to how it applies to  Mexico’s huge online gambling grey market. The new updated bill, however, is expected to clarify both online gambling and poker issues, as the country attempts to curb criminal activities not covered in its current gambling legislation. This includes clamping down on money laundering, as well as the numerous illegal gambling shops which have sprung up across the country offering slots and online gambling options. As Sanchez recently explained:
“Anything that involves this business [gambling] must be certified, and the information must be transparent. [The AIEJA is] going to regulate and reorder online play, too, [which will help recovery] of the horse and greyhound racing industry.”
A reform of Mexico’s gambling code will deal a blow to its reputation as a safe haven for US poker pros, who moved to the country following Black-Friday in the USA, as regulation and taxation is sure to mean a clamp down on popular offshore sites targeting Mexicans. On the other hand, Mexican players appear to welcome the move, with former PokerStars Team Pro and WSOP winner Angel Guillen believing legislation could result in a poker boom. Guillen’s opinion seems to be backed up by research carried out by Rebecca Liggero from eMarketer.com suggesting that Mexican online players could rocket by 114% to 18 million in 2018.
Live poker tournaments are not permitted in Mexico, either, but a change in its gambling laws will have the potential to boost the country’s poker market further, and as Guillen, explains :
“Poker has grown a lot in Brazil since they have started to organize tournaments all over the country. Now, I am expecting something similar in Mexico as well.. The law is kind of tricky at the moment. But they are working on it, and hopefully we will have a big tournament in Mexico very soon. September will be the month that is going to show us where Mexico is headed poker-wise.”