The government of Mexico has been urged to commence a long-delayed debate on the modernisation of Mexican gambling laws to reform to unlock new economic opportunities in tech, tourism and taxation.
Last week saw AIEJA, Mexico’s Association of Permit Holders, Operators and Suppliers of the Entertainment and Gambling Industry (AIEJA) put its case forward to national media. Members point to the Federal Gaming and Lottery Law of 1947—as a “relic of another era unfit to govern Mexico’s $10bn casino market and rapidly evolving online gambling sector”.
“The urgency is not only about legality, but about the economic opportunity,” said Miguel Ángel Ochoa, head of the Association of Licensees, Operators, and Providers (AIEJA). “With clear rules, the state gains stability, operators gain certainty, and consumers gain protection.”
The obsoleteism is glaring. – Its loopholes provide fertile ground for illegal gambling, harm tax collection, and sow uncertainty among customers,” noted Arturo Rodríguez García, a columnist of El Heraldo de México. The newspaper echoed warnings at the GAT Expo CDMX 2025, held in Santa Fe: the urgency of new legislation to bring the sector under modern rules.
Mexico a lopsided market
The size of the prize is not trivial. Mexico’s land-based casino industry is estimated to be worth over $1010, operating across 28 states with around 400 venues. The sector generates more than 200,000 jobs, both direct and indirect, and contributes to the growth of tourism, gastronomy, and entertainment. Online gambling, meanwhile, has expanded at breakneck pace. Revenues climbed from $600m in 2019 to $2.7bn in 2024, and are projected to pass $3bn this year.
But this digital windfall comes with a caveat: nearly 60% of online activity is illegal, amounting to some $300m in untaxed profits. Legal operators complain that their investments in compliance and consumer safeguards are undermined by unlicensed websites, often hosted offshore, which face no oversight and offer none of the protections that regulators demand.
“This is perhaps the biggest challenge,” Rodríguez García observed: “how to provide a clear regulatory framework for digital gaming to reduce informality, protect users, and improve revenue collection.”
Government cold feet
The government is aware of the problem. In late 2024, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, the Secretary of the Interior, convened permit holders, operators and union leaders, including Miguel Ángel Ochoa of AIEJA (the Association of Licensees, Operators, and Providers in the Entertainment and Betting Industry) and Alfonso Pérez Lizaur of APPJSAC (the Association of Gaming Permit Holders). The meeting acknowledged the need to modernise the law, ensure fair competition, and guard against corruption.
Industry leaders pressed their case. Ochoa argued that combating illegal gambling required “rules that make remaining legal more attractive.” The experience of other countries, he cautioned, shows that if taxes or restrictions are excessive, operators shift to the shadows. The lesson, he insisted, was clear: Mexico must design a balanced model, “where regulation supports innovation, not hinders it.”
The Interior Ministry’s forum signalled intent, but it did not deliver legislation. The task of rewriting the 1947 statute lies with Congress, which has so far proved reluctant to take it up. Political capital is scarce, and gambling reform ranks low on Morena’s crowded agenda.
Yet, paradoxically, updating gambling law would dovetail neatly with the digitalisation drive championed by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose administration pushed reforms in banking, fintech, and IT infrastructure. Extending similar principles to gambling—secure payment systems, anti-money-laundering controls, and consumer protections—would align the sector with broader state-led modernisation.
Trade associations stress that reform should not be mistaken for a total liberalisation of gambling. The industry is not calling for an open-door policy, but for legal clarity to support domestic investment, attracts foreign capital, and shield consumers from black market encroachment.
AIEJA estimates that the regulated sector sustains more than 38,000 direct jobs and 140,000 indirect ones, while contributing significant fiscal revenues to federal, state, and municipal coffers. A more coherent framework could expand this base and channel resources into public health, education, and infrastructure.
The danger of inertia is equally clear. An unchecked illegal market not only siphons revenue but also undermines consumer confidence and the state’s credibility in enforcing its own rules. As Rodríguez García put it, “the door to debate with clear rules is open. The challenge now will be for Congress to materialise this effort.”
Tax lessons from abroad
Mexico need not start from scratch. European jurisdictions, such as Spain and Denmark, have shown that transparent licensing regimes, robust digital oversight, and calibrated tax rates can keep channelisation rates—ie, the share of gamblers using legal operators—above 90%.
Closer to home, the market of Colombia has also become a reference point after legalising and taxing online betting in 2016. However the development of Colombia’s gambling market has been disrupted in 2025 by President Gustavo Petro’s direct decision to apply a 19% VAT on deposits as a permanent measure.
The above examples suggest that a well-designed framework can combine revenue collection with consumer protection, provided regulators resist the temptation to overtax. “When rules are sensible and predictable, the legal market flourishes,” noted one executive at the Santa Fe expo. “When they are punitive, the illegal sector wins.”
Avoiding a Mexican Stand-off
With Mexico’s online gambling market projected to reach six million players by 2028, the clock is ticking. Investors, operators, and trade unions are all lobbying for reform; the Interior Ministry has signalled its willingness to listen. What is missing is legislative momentum.
Rodríguez García’s weekend column framed the stakes bluntly. Mexico, he argued, faces a choice: either to lay “solid foundations for gaming in Mexico to develop as it should” or to continue under a framework that belongs to another century. For now, the debate remains unscripted. But the longer Congress delays, the more the balance tilts towards illegality.
September 15 will see SBC organise a groundbreaking charity football event in Lisbon. Make sure you get the chance to see some of the most legendary names in football by securing your ticket today at https://www.legendscharitygame.com/
