Around the world, casinos and gaming clubs are coming under fire for offering pokies and other electronic gaming machines to players. Recently, the UK government made plans to explore a potential ban on pokies. Now, Mexico has actually enacted a ban on these games. This week, it was reported that Mexican politicians have placed a ban on poker machines across the country.

In Mexico, these games are called ‘tragamonedas’, and they are more widely available than they are in Australia. Rather than being limited to gaming clubs and casinos, Mexican, tragamonedas games are available on the streets and in retail outlets. By banning games from certain locations, it is hoped that a decline in problem gambling rates will be seen.

At the moment, there is little information available about the newly enacted ban on poker machines in Mexico, but we can assume that the reason for the new regulation is the country’s gambling spending. Gambling was only recently legalized in Mexico, allowing casinos to open up and for the government to reap lucrative gaming profits.

While legalisation has benefited the country, it is likely that is has also led to increased problem gambling and crime rates. Like most countries with this problem, the Mexican government decided to ban some forms of gambling to cut down on residents’ losses. Another provision that was enacted deals with casino licenses in Mexico. Previously, casino owners were granted licenses for up to 40 years.

This week, the maximum license was reduced to just 25 years. Operators will also be banned from renting out their licenses to other gaming firms. These rules have been imposed to prevent future gambling scandals from occurring. It is hoped that the new gambling laws in Mexico will help to create a safe gambling environment for residents and tourists.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.