The government of Mexico is preparing to crack down on the gaming industry. Yogonet reported September 7 that the Secretariat of the Interior (Segob) has drafted a decree that would dramatically rewrite provisions of the regulations of the Federal Gaming and Sweepstakes Law.
The decree, which is expected to be signed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador shortly and enacted into law, would ban slot machines and reduce the length of time of casino licenses.
One regulation that governs slot machines would be eliminated, which Yogonet reports, implies that licenses for casinos that have the machines would be revoked.
Another change would modify the length of permits from 25 to 15 years.
El Universal journalist Mario Maldonado wrote in his column that slot machines account for $874,317,000 annually for operators and bring in $273,952,660 in taxes. He added that about the only relief the industry would get is that they could continue to operate the machines until their permits expire.
