Pena Nieto wins Mexican election – gaming reforms on hold?

Early results indicate that Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is set to become the new president of Mexico.

Pena Nieto will take office in December but it looks unlikely that his PRI party will take the overall majority in the Senate and Congress.

Following the arson attack on the Casino Royale in Monterrey last year, momentum had been building towards new reforms for Mexico’s casino industry, tightening regulations on licences and defining which games are permitted. The timing of the elections, however, effectively put this process on hold.  

Now, Pena Nieto’s key priority is expected to be security particularly given the escalating drugs war, which was blamed for the Casino Royale attack. It may mean that the gaming industry will now have to wait sometime before his administration turns its attention to introducing new gaming legislation.