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)

Segob announces casino projects

Interior Secretariat spokesperson Marcela González Salas announced a project to create Las Vegas-style casinos in Mexico. CUARTOSCURO

With permits, estimated 775 building projects can begin

thenews.mx

BY PEDRO MONTES DE OCA
The News

MEXICO CITY – In order to halt the growth of casinos in urban areas, the Interior Secretariat (Segob) confirmed that a project to create Las Vegas-style casinos outside of city centers is in the works Tuesday.

They would presumably be built in the Riviera Maya, Acapulco or Baja California, said Eduardo Sánchez, a spokesman for the Mexican Government and Marcela González Salas, the general director for the Gaming Commission of the Interior Secretariat.

In a joint press conference, they stressed that this project aims to keep casinos from operating in urban areas, where there are currently 297.
 

Once permits from local and federal officials have been obtained, an estimated 775 casinos could be built in these resort areas. The numbers are based on the amount of permits that have been issued in past administrations.

At the beginning of the current administration, there were 412 casinos in operation. Some of the permits for these casinos were revoked due to irregularities or because some permits were issued to run various casinos under the same permit, which is no longer allowed, González said.
 

State and federal authorities have worked together to reduce the enormous profits, estimated to be between 500 and 600 million pesos ($33.4 to $40.1 million), of which no taxes were paid.

Segob, the Attorney General’s Office and numerous state governments are also working together to eradicate slot machines.

The federal government has removed 13,000 machines voluntarily so far.

“Gambling addictions, like every other addiction, are associated with other high risk behavior that can impact a person’s physical and emotional well-being,” Sánchez said.

Mexico's New Gambling Bill Set for September 9 Premier

BanderasNews.com
September 8, 2014

The new gambling reform is expected to raise the minimum age to play in casinos to 21, offer operators 10-year long licenses, regulate online gambling, and establish a new Advisory Council.

Mexico City - The proposal to reform Mexico's gambling regulations will be introduced to the country's House of Representatives on September 9, 2014.

"The work is almost over," Miguel Angel Ochoa Sanchez, the President of the Association of Licensees, Operators and Suppliers of Gaming and Entertainment in Mexico (AIEJA) said in an interview with Mexico's El Universal. "[The bill] will be introduced to the Chamber of Deputies on September 9 and it will be approved by September 20th."

The existing laws are silent on online gambling, having been in place since 1947.

According to industry rumors, the new gambling reform is expected to raise the minimum age to play in brick-and-mortar casinos to 21, offer operators a system of 10-year long licenses, regulate online gambling, and establish a new Advisory Council composed of the secretaries of Health, Tourism, Economics and Government, as well as non-governmental organizations.

Commenting on the reform, the President of the Commission of Gaming in the Chamber of Deputies, Fernando Zarate Salgado, stated, "the new law is going to put some order in the gambling world by regulating it and fixing some issues we have now."

According to the AIEJA President, the reform is going to receive a unanimous vote from the Mexican House of Representatives as it is generally believed that it will help make the industry much more stable and transparent than it is today. However, there will be a licensing process, and there will be new gaming taxes on online poker.

"It's a very ambitious project," Ochoa Sanchez said referring to the changes that the reform should bring to the current system in place.

Although Zarate Salgado admitted that the bill to be introduced to the House of Representatives on September 9 may be modified before its official approval, he believes that it will be voted on by "99 percent of Mexico's deputies."

Sources: pokerfuse.com • pokernews.com

Mexico's New Gambling Regulation to be Approved by Sept. 20

• September 04, 2014
• Giovanni AngioniBrenda Hinojosa
• 
  

 pokernews.com

The proposal to reform Mexico's gambling regulations will be introduced to the country's parliament on Sept. 9. The government believes that it will be officially approved no later than Sept. 20, according to Miguel Angel Ochoa Sanchez, President of the Association of Licensees, Operators and Suppliers of Gaming and Entertainment in Mexico (AIEJA).

"The work is almost over," Ochoa Sanchez said in an interview with Mexico's El Universal. "[The bill] will be introduced to the Chamber of Deputies on Sept. 9 and it will be approved by Sept. 20."

According to the AIEJA President, the reform is going to receive a unanimous vote from the Mexican Parliament as it is generally believed that it will help make the industry much more stable and transparent than it is today.

During the interview, Ochoa Sanchez stressed the importance of a quick adoption of the reform, as he thinks that everything should be in place before Mexico's general elections in 2015 in order to avoid further delays.

"It's a very ambitious project," Ochoa Sanchez said referring to the changes that the reform should bring to the current system in place.

According to industry rumors, the new gambling reform is expected to raise the minimum age to play in brick-and-mortar casinos to 21, offer operators a system of 10-year long licenses, regulate online gambling, and establish a new Advisory Council composed of the secretaries of Health, Tourism, Economics and Government, as well as non-governmental organizations.

Commenting on the reform, the President of the Commission of Gaming in the Chamber of Deputies Fernando Zarate Salgado stated that "the new law is going to put some order in the gambling world by regulating it and by fixing some issues we have now."

Although Zarate Salgado admitted that the bill that will be introduced to the Parliament on Sept. 9 may be modified before its official approval, he believes that it will be voted on by "99 percent of Mexico's deputies."

Earlier this month, two of Mexico's most famous poker pros, Angel Guillen and Christian "Grillo" de León , spoke with PokerNews about the importance that the reform is going to have for the development of the poker industry in the country.

"[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," Guillen said.

"The law is kind of tricky at the moment," Guillen continued. "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."

Mexico's current gambling regulation was approved in 1947 and is considered by many to be outdated and ineffective to guarantee the development of the gambling industry and at the same time prevent corruption and money laundering.