Legislation
Mexico – Gambling ban to stay in place says Governor of Coahuila
By James - 2 February 2023
The governor of the Mexican state of Coahuila, Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís, confirmed that the opening of casinos would not be authorised under his administration.
According to the official, the casino ban is part of a wider strategy aimed at “maintaining the peace and tranquillity that has cost the people of Coahuila so much.” The ban also includes restrictions on the opening times of nightclubs and bars.
“I would like to make it clear that I will not reverse all the decisions that I have made in my administration, that is to say: there will be no casinos, there we will no change to opening times, and we will not give flexibility to what one day led us to the periods of insecurity. I want to be very clear and emphatic because at the end of a six-year term, it is believed that permits can be granted . . .” he said in an interview with the local newspaper Milenio.
After the governor of Coahuila’s comments Mayor Román Alberto Cepeda González said that city of Torreón located in the state backed the scheme to ban casinos as the ban and the restriction on alcohol licensing hours had brought more security.
Casinos have been banned in the state since 2012 in order to prevent money laundering and organised crime. However Coahuila remains a strategic state for drug-trafficking organisations. Earlier this month the Government of Canada issued a travel alert for its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to 14 states of the Mexican Republic including Coahuila.
