Operator News
Mexico – Mayor of Mexicali defends new licenses
By James - 21 March 2023
The mayoress of Mexicali, Norma Bustamante Martínez, stated that she will look into the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s, recent statements regarding gambling and the licensing of casinos. Last week Obrador said that he would not grant any new permits to open casinos and warned further that if any licenses had been issued in the last four years of his government that they would be revoked.
The statements could well have an impact on the city as two gambling halls are scheduled to open in the city of Mexicali – the capital of the state of Baja California. The two new casinos, which are already under construction, received licences last year according to Rogelio Guzmán Obispo Director of Urban Planning.
Faced with the warnings from the President, Bustamante Martínez affirmed that she “in no way believes she is committing any irregularity” stating that “according to current law, we are acting correctly.”
In a press conference, Obrador announced that he would request a report on the issue from Adán Augusto López Hernández, head of the Secretariat for Home Affairs (Segob) in order to corroborate the current situation regarding the granting of licenses under his administration.
