Mexico’s Congress seeks public register of casino, online betting permits

Mexico’s Permanent Commission of the Congress has received a draft resolution calling on the Interior Ministry to publish all casino and online betting permits in open-data format as lawmakers push for greater transparency in the gambling sector amid money laundering concerns.

The proposal, submitted on May 13 by Rubén Ignacio Moreira Valdez of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), targets the Interior Ministry, known as SEGOB, and its Directorate-General of Games and Draws.

The resolution seeks disclosure of all valid permits covering casinos and sportsbooks, including permit holder details, authorised gambling modalities, and the status of venues by state, including those operating, suspended, or closed within the past five years. It also calls for the publication of all authorised online betting platforms and the internet domains linked to those permits.

The permits relate to Centros de Apuestas Remotas y Salas de Sorteos (CARSS), or remote betting centres and lottery halls, which the proposal described as establishments “commonly known as casinos”.

Moreira said the measure would strengthen efforts to combat money laundering in Mexico’s betting and lottery industry.

“Although CARSS represent income for the State, this is also a high-risk sector for the commission of operations with funds of illicit origin,” the proposal said.

Mexico’s Federal Law on Games and Draws, in force since Dec. 31, 1947, grants SEGOB exclusive authority to regulate gambling and lottery activities in the country, except for the National Lottery. The proposal noted that the legislation “does not contemplate the online betting modality” as well.

A 2023 audit by Mexico’s Federal Superior Audit Office found SEGOB issued 5,336 betting and lottery permits between 2019 and 2023. Of those, 51 covered CARSS operations held by 36 permit holders, who reported revenue from 422 establishments.

The proposal cited data from Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit showing 351,236 vulnerable-activity reports linked to gambling between January and September 2025, up 14.6% from a year earlier. Total gambling-related financial movements reached at least 25.6 billion pesos ($1.3 billion) through November 2025, according to the document.

The proposal also referenced action by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 13, 2025, when the agency sanctioned 27 individuals and companies and identified 10 gambling houses in Mexico allegedly linked to money laundering activities involving at least $2 million between 2017 and 2024.

The document argued that casinos’ heavy reliance on cash and chips makes such establishments “an ideal vehicle to introduce organised-crime money into the formal financial system”.

It added that limited transparency surrounding gambling permits represented “a structural vulnerability that may negatively impact the Mexican State’s rating and its international financial reputation” ahead of the country’s next evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force.