SEGOB Aims to Turn Mexico's Resorts into Casino Areas

Karina Suarez - La Reforma
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March 10, 2015

'There should be casino resort areas with entertainment centers, sports arenas, first class hotels and convention centers,' SEGOB's director of Gaming Commission, Marcela González Salas, said last week.

Mexico City - The former Mexican Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB) intends to turn Nuevo Vallarta and Puerto Peñasco into shining examples of gambling and entertainment resort areas in Mexico.

Marcela González Salas, who until last week was SEGOB's General Director of Gaming, explained that in Puerto Peñasco they want to take advantage of its proximity to the United States to attract more customers, while in Nuevo Vallarta potential casinos go hand-in-hand with the arrival of the Cirque du Soleil Theme Park, which is expected to open in 2018.

"There should be casino resort areas, complete with entertainment centers, sports arenas, first class hotels, convention centers," she said.

González Salas left office last Friday to be included on the list of candidates of PRI deputies. According to her, this change in direction will not affect these plans, as in the interim they will fall into the hands of the deputy general manager of operations, Marcos García Hernández.

Miguel Angel Ochoa, the president of Mexico's Association of Licensees, Operators and Providers of Entertainment & Betting Games Industry (AIEJA), indicated that casino operators are more interested in setting up shop in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur and Cancun, Quintana Roo.


Original article translated and edited by Diego Sanchez for BanderasNews.com

Mexican Casinos Coming to Tourist Resorts

by Murry Page

18 Feb 15 

mazmessenger.com

 

Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, México’s Secretary of the Interior, told reporters that México is preparing to authorize the construction of casinos in popular tourist resorts, including Acapulco, Baja California and the Mayan Riviera. He said the idea is to keep new casinos from springing up in urban areas, where they are more likely to rely on a local clientele.

Osorio Chong said the number of new casinos that will be permitted in resorts has yet to be determined. According to government records there are currently 297 gambling venues in México and, using a formula based on the number of permits issued by previous federal governments, the new project could result in as many as 775 casinos being developed in resorts popular with affluent tourists.

The head of the Mexican Association of Professional Real Estate Agents said certain unnamed “Las Vegas-based firms” had already expressed interest in setting up shop at resort properties in Cancun.

México’s legislature is currently in the process of passing its new Federal Betting and Raffles Law. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives in December and is scheduled to be considered by the Senate later this month. Maria Marcela González Salas, the Director General of Gaming and Raffles, said there is still time to amend the bill to include the resort casino project.

The new legislation is an attempt by the federal government to exert control over the country’s casino industry. The proposed legislation requires current casino licensees to reapply for licensing, which the head of the country’s gaming association has warned could spark a flurry of court challenges if many of these operators are denied new licenses.

In 2013, México reduced casino license terms from 40 to 25 years and revoked the ability of casino licensees to pass licenses on to other operators.

(from CalvinArye.com)

México’s New Gaming Law

mazmessenger.com

by Murry Page

10 Dec 14 

mazmessenger.com

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Last Friday México’s Chamber of Deputies voted 297-32 in favor of the new law regulating gambling in México.

Mexican media reports that the new gambling law raises the minimum age for gambling to 21, and will battle money laundering by imposing limitations on unauthorized back room gambling proliferating in the country in what are known as “mini-casinos.”

In an interview, Deputy and Former Chairman of Mexico’s Special Commission on Casinos Ricardo Mejia Berdeja said that legislators and representatives of the Federal Government hammered out all remaining differences as of a November 4 meeting.

The law provides for a 10-year licensing system, regulation of online gambling, and the establishment of a new Advisory Council to oversee the regulation. This Council will be comprised of secretaries from the health, tourism, economics and government offices, who will be cooperating with representatives from non-governmental organizations as well.

Although swift approval by the Senate was expected, yesterday the Mexican Senate’s President, Luis Miguel Barbosa, announced that new gaming law will not be passed until the next legislative session.

Barbosa said that the “environment and willingness” to debate the issues was getting “complicated” given that the current session ends on December 15.

(from I Gaming Business)

Mayor Felton says No New Casinos on the Malecón

by Murry Page

12 Mar 14 

mazmessenger.com

 

 

The shuttered Antares sitting on Avenida Del Mar has a permit to be opened as an entertainment center said Nadia Vega Olivas, Director of Municipal Planning for Mazatlán. He noted that the permit was issued last year under the administration of Alejandro Higuera.

However, Mazatlán’s current mayor, Carlos Felton, said even if the owners have the necessary permit, no more casinos will be allowed to open along the Malecón or in the Golden Zone.

The mayor said he would not allow casinos along the Malecón to tarnish the area as a place for families to relax and enjoy the city. As for the Golden Zone, he noted that area already has four casinos.

(from El Debate)