Mexico’s Association of Permit Holders, Operators and Suppliers of the Entertainment and Gambling Industry (AIEJA) put out a responsible gambling message on 26 October 2026, which several outlets ran in near-identical form that morning. Some headlines described “new measures”, but the content contains no new or binding rules. These are the association’s own recommendations for operators and players.
What the association said
AIEJA, whose president is Miguel Ángel Ochoa Sánchez, says operators should train staff, inform customers about gambling risks and provide guidance and prevention channels. It suggests players set their own spending and time limits.
The release leans on a testimonial from Nayeli Muñoz Pantoja, a retired woman in Mexico City who visits casinos regularly and says she sticks to a budget and a time limit. The testimonial appears to have been supplied by the association rather than found through independent reporting.
The figures, all from AIEJA
The text repeats data the association released in August 2026: 423 casinos in 30 states, run by 38 permit-holding companies, and about 200,000 direct and indirect jobs. These are AIEJA’s own counts, not the regulator’s, and they could not be checked against data from the Interior Ministry (SEGOB), which oversees gambling. Earlier reports attributed a figure of 425 venues in 2024 to the same association.
In previous releases this month, AIEJA also cited more than 60,000 direct jobs, a contribution of about 0.5% of GDP, more than 100,000 authorized machines and around 80 legal online platforms. Its most striking claim is that more than 60% of online bets are placed on unregulated foreign sites. None of these figures comes from an official source.
A campaign with a regulatory goal
The 26 October message is part of a series AIEJA has published since early October covering jobs, suppliers, responsible gambling and the digital market. The association is pushing to update the regulations under the 1947 Federal Law on Games and Draws rather than replace the law, and it wants age verification, spending limits and self-exclusion tools.
In August, AIEJA publicly backed the Security Cabinet’s action against illegal slot machines. Its current messaging keeps up the pressure on foreign operators that lack a Mexican permit.
What it means for operators and affiliates
In the short term, nothing changes on compliance. There is no publication in the Official Gazette (DOF) and no SEGOB action tied to this announcement, and the recommendations are not mandatory.
What matters is the direction of the debate. The licensed industry is building a public case for tools such as age verification, spending limits and self-exclusion. If the regulator picks up those proposals in a regulatory update, operators that already have them in place will be better prepared.
For affiliates, the sensitive point is the claim about bets going to unregulated foreign sites. Although unverified, it underpins the call for tougher enforcement against offshore operators. Affiliates promoting brands without a Mexican permit should review their exposure to a possible crackdown, which for now is not confirmed.
AIEJA’s market figures are best treated as the position of an interested party until official data supports them.
This article is based on public information available at the time of publication. We try to verify the facts, but figures and details may contain errors or change, and iGaming.mx accepts no responsibility for their accuracy. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Spotted a mistake? Email us.