Mexico’s long-awaited rewrite of its Federal Law on Games and Draws is nearly through internal government review, with officials signalling the reform could soon move to the country’s security cabinet before heading to Congress.
Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez confirmed the update during a morning briefing at the National Palace, explaining that the various federal agencies with a stake in casinos, betting venues, and entertainment centres have essentially finished checking the draft legislation. First unveiled a year ago in September 2025, the bill has passed through multiple rounds of agency-level scrutiny.
Compliance warnings alongside the reform push
Rodríguez used the briefing to restate a message she says she delivered early in the current administration when she met with representatives from the two dominant players in Mexico’s gaming sector: operators found bribing regulatory staff risk having their venues shuttered and their own personnel prosecuted. She also stressed that she deals with the industry directly, without intermediaries acting on her behalf.
A wave of closures tied to financial crime
Government figures cited during the briefing put the number of casinos sanctioned over the past two years at 13, with as many as 20 more reportedly experiencing difficulties, though no exact total was given. These actions have been carried out jointly with the Attorney General’s Office and the Finance Ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit, and are largely linked to money laundering and tax evasion investigations.
New anti-money laundering rules already in force
Independent of the pending reform, Mexico’s Finance Ministry has already published fresh anti-money laundering rules in the Official Gazette this past August, built on the existing federal law targeting illicit-origin transactions. Gambling, betting, contests, and draws all fall under the law’s “Vulnerable Activities” category, and the new rules add fresh compliance obligations for operators and clearer duties for supervisory bodies.
Central to the framework is a shift toward risk-based compliance: operators will need to identify, assess, and document risk across customers, transactions, products, and geography, while strengthened due-diligence rules cover beneficial ownership and politically exposed persons. A “proportional compliance” mechanism means smaller or lower-risk operations may face lighter obligations, with the whole system phased in gradually to give the industry room to adapt.
Taken together, the pending law and the newly active AML rules point toward Mexico tightening its grip on the sector, prioritising transparency and financial oversight as the reform inches toward Congress.