The ELA 2012 show in Mexico City, which ended yesterday, suffered because of a boycott imposed by some of the major operators.

The reason why the boycott was introduced varied depending on who you asked, but my handle on the situation was that the five or six operators who regard themselves as legal did not want to share an event with those they regarded as illegal operators.

Some of the operators who did attend were heard to say that they had been legal operators long before the boycotters.

Add to that a dispute between the two trade associations, both of which have different opinions on how the industry should be regulated, and the continued absence of the large American slot machine manufacturers and you can see why the industry in Mexico is such a basket case.

So suppliers who had already been hit by the knee-jerk reaction to ban roulette and card games after the Monterrey arson tragedy had to put up with severely reduced footfall at ELA. But there is hope. This is an election year in Mexico and the industry has its fingers crossed that whoever wins it will do something to sort this unholy mess out.

Full report and pictures in the June issue of InterGaming.