Mexico’s Segob prepares legal reform against money laundering in casinos and betting shops

Mexico’s Ministry of the Interior (Segob) has finished a proposal to reform the law governing casinos and betting centers, with tighter controls on money laundering and tax fraud in the crosshairs. For PSPs, acquirers, and banks serving gambling merchants, the message is simple: Mexico is moving the regulatory target, and the compliance bar is getting higher.

1. Segob has completed a reform proposal for the Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos, the federal gaming and betting law in force since 1947. The stated goal is to adapt the framework for casinos and betting centers to current risks.
2. Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez announced the initiative on 3 September during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference. She said the draft was the result of about two years of work between Segob and several federal agencies linked to the sector, and that it was prepared on Sheinbaum’s direct instruction.
3. The proposal has already passed internal review at Segob. The next step is consideration by the security cabinet, which means the reform is still moving through the executive branch before it becomes a legislative matter.
4. Rodríguez also said she summoned the permit holders of the main gambling businesses at the start of the current administration to set the terms of the relationship with the government. Her warning to operators was blunt: do not attempt to bribe Segob staff. She said there are no brokers or intermediaries authorized to handle matters with the ministry, and that any issues must be dealt with directly with her.
5. In exchange, Segob said it would address pending amparos and other operator filings. Rodríguez said the arrangement has been honored and that relations with the industry remained stable over her two years in office.

Rodríguez said around 20 casinos are under investigation, including cases involving 13 casinos previously made public. Those investigations involve the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Ministry of Finance (SHCP), through the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), and relate to alleged money laundering and tax fraud. For high-risk payment providers, that is the kind of backdrop that usually ends with more scrutiny on merchant onboarding, transaction monitoring, and source-of-funds checks.