The Mexican government has admitted the existence of a legal vacuum in the Federal Gambling Law, which makes it really hard for the authorities to fight against illegal gambling games, especially slot machines.

The federal government estimates that there are at least 70,000 illegal slot machines in Mexico, whose operation is not allowed by the current laws. However, these laws do not prohibit the possession of the machines, even if they are placed in public places such as small shops and bus stations. This means that, in order to confiscate them, the government must prove that the slot machines were being played when the inspector arrived at the place.

National authorities are trying to approve new laws and legal procedures to stop illegal gambling in the country. Meanwhile, the federal government keeps a marginal advance in this fight, and assures that the operation of slot machines takes place in little establishments, such as pharmacies, grocery shops and stationeries, but not in the big gambling rooms.

According to undersecretary Arturo Chávez, responsible for the expedition and operation of games and gambling permissions, establishments such as Yak or Caliente are using legal machines to carry out their “online bingos”. With regards to legal vacuums stopping the confiscation of slot machines, Chávez said that having this kind of machine isn’t a crime in itself if the machine is not played nor operated with lucrative purposes.