Mexican President calls for regulation of online casinos to prevent money laundering
President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has called for an update to the regulations governing the operation of online casinos, after the operation of 13 betting platforms and physical casinos in eight states was suspended due to money laundering.
In her ‘People’s Morning Press Conference’, the president pointed out that currently “many bets” are being placed through online casinos which opens the possibility that they may be used for money laundering.
“Update the law, today there are many bets made digitally; there are physical casinos, but now there are many digital ones. The regulations for digital casinos must be updated because when the law was enacted, it did not exist in the way it does today for placing bets. It needs to be regulated, otherwise it opens the door to money laundering,” she said.
The announcement comes after the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, in collaboration with the Security Cabinet, identified 13 casinos that have been found to be engaging in cash operations and utilising unsupervised digital platforms. According to a press release from the Ministry, these establishments have been designated as “blocked legal entities” due to their high financial risk, with the aim of protecting users and preventing their potential use by organized crime.
Grisel Galeano García, the Federal Attorney for Tax Matters, stated that the main victims were young people, senior citizens, and workers, who were unaware that their financial information was being used.
The scheme involved simulating cash transactions and international transfers to countries such as Romania, Switzerland, the United States, Malta, and the United Arab Emirates, without justification for the funds. The intervention included the blocking of accounts and websites involved, as well as the suspension of activities in physical casinos.
Galeano explained that the victims did not receive notifications nor participated in the operations, and reiterated the lack of links with organized crime groups.
The operation was supported by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Office of Financial Assets Control (OFAC).
