The Mexican government has recently imposed a new tax on gaming machines that imported into the country. Now, poker machine manufacturers that wish to sell their games to Mexican venue owners will be subject to a 15% import tax. The new tax is another strategy to cut back on illegal gambling in Mexico.
Over the course of the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of illegal gaming machines in the country. Last year, raids were carried out to get rid of any unregulated slot machines and pokies that exist in the country. 2013 also saw the local government ban gaming machine licensees from renting their licenses out to other venues.
Mexican politicians want to take control of the local gambling market to cut back on illegal gambling and protect players across the country. The new tax will help them to better monitor the games that are coming into Mexico and stop operators from offering illegal and unregulated games to local players.
“The gaming industry is a social and economic phenomenon which has increased in our country and the exposure of those involved increases the risk that this activity can interfere in family , social and work relationships,” reads the new law’s decree. “It is necessary to create a tariff code to classify the importation of machines…with the aim to permit a better monitoring and surveillance of them.”
Latin America is a huge market for gaming machine manufacturers like IGT and WMS. They sell hundreds of games into countries like Mexico, Argentina and Peru every year. The new tax is likely to affect their sales into this market, but it is too soon to tell exactly how things will change.
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