Claudia Sheinbaum announces reform for online casinos in Mexico
The Mexican government is preparing a legal reform to regulate online gambling, an industry that has grown exponentially in recent years without a legal framework that addresses the new digital modalities.
During her morning conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged that the country faces a legal vacuum regarding casinos and online betting platforms, whose expansion exceeds the current supervisory capacity.
“Today, many bets are placed digitally. There are physical casinos that must comply with current regulations, but there are many digital casinos advertising on social media and television. When the law was created, this way of betting did not exist,” Sheinbaum explained.
The president emphasized the need to modernize the regulation to prevent the use of these platforms for illicit purposes, including money laundering schemes and tax evasion.
Finance Investigation: 13 Casinos Under Suspicion
The Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), together with the National Security Cabinet, presented this week the results of an investigation that identified 13 casinos with allegedly irregular operations, where large cash flows, international transfers, and the use of unsupervised digital platforms were detected.
According to the report, the establishments operated with million-dollar movements to countries such as the United States, Romania, Albania, Malta, and Panama, using complex financial structures to conceal and disperse illicit resources.
The irregularities were located in Jalisco, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California, State of Mexico, Chiapas, and Mexico City, where patterns compatible with international money laundering typologies were detected.
As a result, several of these operations were blocked preventively to protect users and prevent their use by criminal organizations.
Judicial Measures and International Cooperation
The Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) will file the corresponding complaints with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and notify the Federal Tax Prosecutor’s Office to follow up on alleged crimes of money laundering, criminal association, and tax evasion.
“These actions reaffirm Mexico’s commitment to international cooperation to prevent the use of the financial system for illicit purposes, in collaboration with FinCEN and OFAC of the United States Department of the Treasury,” the official statement specified.
The SHCP highlighted that the investigations are being carried out according to the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an organization that promotes global standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Towards a New Regulation of Online Gambling
President Sheinbaum’s announcement marks a turning point in Mexican policy towards the gambling industry. The president confirmed that the Executive will work with the Congress of the Union and the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB) on drafting a new regulatory framework that includes licenses, digital supervision, fiscal control, and responsible gaming measures.
Mexico still maintains a 1947 law that does not contemplate digital betting, which has created regulatory gaps exploited by foreign or informal operators.
Industry experts point out that an update would allow for increased tax collection, attract regulated investment, and better protect players, replicating successful models from countries such as Colombia and Spain, where iGaming has modern legal frameworks and technological oversight.
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