Coordinator of the sub commission of Games and Draws of the Chamber of Representatives, Armando García Méndez (Alternativa), said that, in the current ordinary period of sessions, a bill will be presented in order to update and regulate casinos and betting centers, because more than a thousand venues are operating without a proper regulation.

He explained that, if legislators do nothing in order to regulate such activity, that nowadays is being performed in an illegal way, and things are left as they are, “in a very close future, it will happen something similar to the war to drug dealing, because there are very powerful economic and politic groups that will fight for the control of casinos.”

“We need to set clear rules, we need to regulate, so we may say what is permitted and what is forbidden; we have to avoid powerful groups to position and confront each other”, said García Méndez in an interview, in which it announced that members of the sub-commission will gather with the organization “Say no to Casinos”, to listen to its position on the matter.

He added that the mission of the sub-commission that he coordinates is to make a new law that regulates the games and draws activity in the country, because the regulation existing on the matter is from 1947, which makes it obsolete before the current conditions and needs.

He mentioned that, according to the information brought by the Department of Interior (Segob), there are between 510 and 512 casinos operating ilegally in the country, according to the regulation in force, but we he said have information that we are two to one, it means, two illegal casinos per one legal venue, so there must be around a hundred illegal places.

He commented that one of the main groups against a new law for casino and draws, are those groups that have had profits with illegal gaming, so they affirm that a new law is not required because the existing rules are enough.

Legislator Armando García was in favor of a new law to regulate casinos, the games and draws activity, both in the operational level and at the security and legal level.