I'm a pro who moved to Mexico after 'Black Friday' and have been living here the last 4 years. My friends and I have spent $$$$$$ pesos on the nightlife, restaurant, random business, etc scene. Not to mention all the rent. We've made many friends here. Our lives will probably be turned upside down in a different direction if Mexico ends up having a segregated player pool. I fear Canada will also be next. Poker is already difficult as it is.

To the point of the earlier poster talking about Belize (which I know nothing about):

My wife and I lived in Panama City, Panama for a year post BF. While nothing bad happened during our time I would NOT recommend it for expat poker ppl.

Ive lived in Prague for over two years and would 100% recommend it. PM me for help or questions.

1. How long did it take, from the time Canada introduced this type of regulation, until the time it actually passed? I don't remember it taking very long. Is that relevant?

2. Assuming Stars gives us notice that we must relocate, will there be a grace period? Will they give us, at least, a few weeks notice, before we officially must find a new place of residency?

Any info is appreciated.

1. no, the speed of canadian govt is not related to the speed of mexican govt

2. no grace period, it's very unlikely stars tells you anything before they lock your acc and tell you they are no longer offering services to your country.

your grace period is right now, potentially. Make the most of it

For all players residing in Mexico
Start spending your fpps/vip points asap. Try to clear all the bonuses you may have asap and start to withdraw your rolls also asap. I understand that if you play on stars then that may not be an issue as youll get partial value on the fpps or bonus you may have. You shudnt also have much trouble getting withdraws but for players that play on other sites rather than stars they a bit more scummy

Pretty simple, the pros that are here leave if the regulation passes. While the politicians might not see any direct income from the players, I can with 100% certainty say that the money pumped into the Mexican economy is substantially less than the money they earn on regulation. In the past 3 months I have spent at least 15k on expenses while here. After the new year I'm bringing my wife/child/dog down until May along with friends/family visiting, unless there's regulation affecting the situation. If the regulations are significant, there are other locations, albeit less accessible for myself and family.

And I'm only one of a couple of hundred, thousand?

A few of us that live down here in Playa del Carmen did some thinking and made a rough estimate that poker players attribute a minimum of 250k to the Playa economy per month. I wouldn't be surprised if it's not double that.

In Rosarito alone, which has been in pretty bad shape since 9/11, there's gotta be $1 million+ per year spent by expat poker players in the local economy.

If Spain & France are the model, what evidence/articles are there out there to show that things aren't quite working out as they had hoped with segregation? What about the European countries who have stayed tapped into the ROW pool and how it's working out for them ($$-wise and easier/less regulatory burden)?

Mexico's online player pool has to be quite a bit smaller than both France and Spain. It makes segregation a tougher go.

The US state-by-state model could be a cautionary tale with the struggles to get the necessary liquidity to run profitable sites (i.e. the Fertitas/Station's recent failure in Nevada).

If Caliente has their hands in/on this bill, there's still ways for them to profit (i.e. requiring ROW online operators to partner with a land-based interest like in New Jersey) without having to take on this new venture alone and risk losses.

For Mexico's existing poker community - cutting off online players from ROW sites hinders their development in the game/sport quite significantly. You don't develop future LAPT and WSOP champions by severely limiting where they can play and compete. Plus, segregation makes it more difficult for them to build up the necessary bankroll to compete at the biggest events in the World and rep their country.

Once this gambling bill passes, Mexico is going to be a great spot to host international poker competitions (LAPT, etc.). ROW sites facilitate a big international presence through online qualifiers, which should only be a good thing for Mexico.

A lot of expat poker players, when back in their home countries, are good ambassadors for Mexico and it's tourism industry. That is, many of us tell all our friends & family back home how nice Mexico truly is, and that many of the foreign headlines are very misrepresentative Mexico and the people as a whole.

That's all I got.

También Tijuana deportes y tacos. Por favor, no segregar!

Great post Gramps.

We have a ton of articles on pokerfuse and pokefuse PRO on the failures of the segregated markets based on quarterly/annual market figures + industry traffic data, and the advantages of the UK model. Some is behind a paywall, but if there's anything specific i might be able to share.

this one is very succinct but can get the point across:
http://pfu.se/prolink/5064-mWSjCrmnIQMYf7zKxSgU/

lol LOL

Mexico < Canada/Europe

Canada and Europe are absolutely great but it's difficult staying there long term. Mexico is just so easy to get in and out of and you get a 180 day visa upon entry. Ideal for Americans.

Im the blogger in Mexico for PokerNews http://latin.pokernews.com we also have all the most relevant and actual news and information related to this subject or any other in Latinamerica.

Last thing we heard about the problem with the .com.mx problem is that two groups of players are going to talk next week in the senate to discuss the importance of a non segregated market. Like not to follow the Spain lead but the UK example. Lets see if this works.

Twitter is @PokerNewsLatAm

except that the weather is ****, the cost of living is higher, the VAT tax sucks, immigration is tougher/more strict, the beaches aren't as nice, the locals aren't friendlier, etc etc etc

but you're entitled to your own opinion

I don't think Mexico will be near the top of any future LAPT stops. Don't you remember what happened pre-black Friday when there WAS an LAPT Mexico? In the middle of the tournament, like Day 3 or thereabouts, some local greasers stormed the halls demanding payment, etc. Basically it was a government extortion attempt after the tournament had already begun. Stars said GFY to Mexico, cancelled the tournament mid-stream, refunded buyins, and basically swore to never return to this corrupt chithole, errr, I mean the Glorious Nation of Mexico lol.

"Once this gambling bill passes" to avoid a situation like LAPT Vallarta years back as you describe.

The bulk of the gambling provisions in the bill are supposed to streamline/improve/clarify gambling laws & regulations to bring everything above board and under federal control (vs. dodgy local regulation).

Eventhough the law is been approved in the general and particular matter by the Camara members, its has to be approved now by the Senate. The new law was approved by a huge majority ( 297 votes in favor, 34 against) so its going to be difficult to change it, but there are still outs. After the senate approves it, they have to make a regulation. Modifications can be made during that period.

Here are the latest news on the subject: http://latin.pokernews.com/noticias/...obada-3431.htm

We are working in the translation as I type.

We have knowledge that some fellow poker players are going to present next week a proposal with the UK line before the Senate votes, a segregated market will kill the online poker in Mexico if they decide to go for the Spain pattern.

In the other hand, live poker will probably bloom, as we would be able to play legally. I can see the "boom" we are wishing for since forever. Lets hope we can see this happening. We could have important series right here in our best locations like Cancun or Los Cabos. We could be the next Brasil, who knows. Mexicans are very passionate, Poker will not be an exception. Situations like the ones you are describing en Vallarta are unlikely to ever happen again, as all regulated tournaments will meet the standards but as in the US will have to wait and see how much we will pay for taxes.

Something that worries me is game diversity when/if this happens. Live games will be 99% NLH/PLO/Mata aces.

I know it seems hard to believe that there are politicians who are interested in hearing from people who this law will affect, but that actually seems to be the case here. So if anyone has anything constructive to say, please post it here, and continue to plead the case for a ROW player pool.

maybe someone way smarter than me at the mexican govt has done a ton of analysis and projections on this with legitimate/correct data, because idk how this could possibly be a good idea.

i think it would impossible for them though to make accurate models of the outcome of ring-fence legislation for mexico because they have no idea which poker accounts with mexican locations are indeed mexicans and not foreginers that have come over. foreign poker players that have come to live/visit in mexico, that will no longer be here after legislation, inject millions of dollars into the local economies.

i mean i have a $2k/mo apartment in playa and its not even that outrageous or baller or anything. playa isnt a cheap place to live in many parts and the reason for that is there are lots of tourists and visitors here. in playa alone i bet there are more than 100 online (NON MEXICAN) poker players staying here. true there are vast more pure tourists here but they only stay a week. 100 full time poker players are worth roughly the equivalent of 3000-5000 tourists imo on a yearly scale. then take a look at that for places like rosarito, where i would have to assume the tourism isnt nearly as big as in playa. thus poker players leaving would likely have a more detrimental effect on the local economy.

i just dont see how the mexican govt is going to make much $ after legislation. the vast amount of $ wagered on online poker is spent by regs/pros that are not mexican and will not be staying after legislation. i literally can only think of 1 legit-mexican fun player that plays 3/6+.

i think the amount of $ the mexican govt will stand to gain after the proposed legislation went through is not much more, or hell maybe less, than the current online poker players visiting/living in mexico inject into local economies.

if anyone from the mexican govt is reading this, i think its very likely this is a bad idea. youre taking something thats currently good--wealthy visitors, and "gambling" on a piece of legislation that will ruin it and only might make up for it with tax revenue. i would be absolutely shocked if someone actually had a very smart model based on correct data that indicated this legislation would be a good idea.

Umm I think they speak spanish, bro. But good points, i agree

At least we can hope that most 2+2ers have a real distaste for politicians and a desire for free markets by now.

every poker expat is deluded when it comes to how much $ the country they reside in makes from them. mexicos gdp in 2013 was 1.261 trillion USD. you really think losing a couple of million $ at an ultimate maximum makes a difference. thats probably the equivalent of a firework display in mexico city on new years.