Given the expectations generated by the debut of a new GAT Expo event in the city of Cancun, Mexico, at the end of November, Yogonet spoke with Miguel Ángel Ochoa, President of the Association of Permit Holders, Operators and Suppliers of the Entertainment and Gaming Industry in Mexico (AIEJA), who assured that “the Mexican market is in full growth, with very promising perspectives for the operators and suppliers of the national and international industry, whether land-based or online.”
What are your expectations for an event like GAT Cancun, in November of this year? What will be the strategic role of AIEJA, and what joint activities do you have planned for the event?
GAT Cancun is the result, for AIEJA, of a strategic regional alliance with GAT Expo, a Colombian partner that joined our association a few months ago.
For Mexico, welcoming GAT is a return to the promotion of brand exhibitions in the gaming industry, which disappeared from the market 12 years ago, in 2012. We hope that, with this first test, GAT Expo manages to insert itself in the regional calendar of exhibitions of machines and other suppliers of the sector.
More than joint activities, we envision it as a strategic alliance of mutual benefit. On the eve of GAT Cancun, AIEJA will hold its 52nd Ordinary Assembly, the third of the year 2024, which, for the first time, will take place outside Mexico City. This allows us to strengthen the image of our association, and once again bring together the entire guild around an event that already holds great prestige.
GAT Expo allows us to enter the country through the front door, ensuring at least the support and participation of a good part of the 70 companies affiliated with AIEJA, and ensuring robust media coverage.
In short, I would say that we will support each other to make our respective events successful, and we can close the year on a good note.
As you know, Mexico is currently in a period of political transition, with a change of federal government that will take place on October 1. Our guild needs to show that the gaming industry is present, that it has an internationally recognized solidity, and that it awakens great interest on the part of investors, both national and international.
GAT Cancun will allow us to promote the Mexican market to Colombia, the rest of Latin America, and the Caribbean, without forgetting the U.S. and Canadian companies that are waiting to see the evolution of the national regulation to enter Mexico.
How did the members of AIEJA receive the news of a new event in Mexico, announced last year, and what expectations do they have with the call carried out in conjunction with the GAT authorities?
As I mentioned before, there is a great expectation among AIEJA members regarding GAT Cancun.
The reactivation of the exhibitions of products related to the supply of casinos, both in terms of machines and other services, had been discontinued in Mexico since May 2012, when the last one was held at Centro Banamex in Mexico City.
The announcement of a new expo was very well received, and we are convinced that this first experience will be successful. AIEJA supports 100% this event and, on the other hand, as announced by José Aníbal Aguirre, we are planning to join forces with GAT for 2025, merging the International Convention that AIEJA has been organizing year after year and GAT Expo, here in Mexico.
¿What is your opinion of the current situation of the Mexican market, and how do you expect this situation to be reflected both in the trade show and in the congress to be held in Cancun?
The Mexican market is in full growth, with very promising prospects for operators and suppliers of the national and international industry, whether land-based or online.
Obviously, not everything has been resolved, but the industry is working hard to strengthen legal certainty and modernize a legal framework so that entrepreneurs and investors can protect themselves in the longer term, and so that Mexico finally occupies the place it deserves in the international gaming markets.
The return of a tradeshow like GAT Cancun to Mexico is an excellent message of confidence to the market and the general public.
Currently, Mexicans attend international trade shows, particularly SBC in Miami, G2E in Las Vegas, and those in South America, including GAT in Cartagena, Bogota, and Santo Domingo.
GAT Cancun will generate a lot of interest, both for those who wish to exhibit and for those visiting, given that the Mexican Caribbean continues to be a very attractive area, not only for tourists but also for businessmen in search of investment alternatives.
Today Mexico has a highly professionalized and mature market in terms of gaming and betting, but with the imminent arrival of Claudia Sheinbaum to the presidency of the country, what expectations does the local market have for this new stage? Do they expect changes in the regulation of gaming or a continuity of the policies implemented during the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador?
With the election of Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, the gaming industry is very serene and with great expectations.
She is a very sensitive woman, with whom we already had an excellent relationship when she served as Head of Government of Mexico City.
Mexico City, as you know, has more than thirty casinos in operation; and none of them had any problem with Dr. Sheinbaum. Her Secretary of Economic Development, Fadlala Akabani, supported us a lot throughout her years of administration, besides presiding over and inaugurating our Conventions.
With all this background, we are convinced that the President-elect will be able to breathe new optimism into our industry and reverse the ambiguous policy that the outgoing President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, imposed on the sector during his six years in office.
On October 1, we will begin to learn what Dr. Sheinbaum’s policy will be regarding the industry, and very soon we will have a clearer picture of our prospects.
