Mexico Gambling Regulator Denies Reports of Licenses Linked to Crime Figure’s Family

(AsiaGameHub) –   Mexican daily newspaper Reforma has been accused of fabricating claims that 20 casinos received operating licences through a company tied to the family of jailed ex-politician Hernán Bermúdez Requena. 

Mexico’s national gambling regulator and industry trade body AIEJA have both rejected the reports and accused the newspaper of lying about the process through which the licences were granted.  

SEGOB, Mexico’s national gambling regulator, published a statement on its official website Monday confirming that all licences connected to Bermúdez Requena were only issued after a court ordered their approval.  

On that same Monday, the front page of Reforma – a publication that has previously been accused of right-wing bias – carried a story claiming that 20 casino licences had been authorised for Compañía Operadora Clíe, a company linked to Bermúdez Requena.  

Bermúdez Requena, who previously served as Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection for the state of Tabasco, is currently being held in custody in Mexico and faces multiple criminal charges. 

He is alleged to lead the criminal organisation La Barredora, which operates as an operational wing of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. 

Allegations Published in Reforma

The licences at the center of the dispute were reportedly approved during the final year of former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s time in office. 

Reforma’s story cited an investigation from a group called Mexicans and Corruption and Impunity (MCCI), a non-profit association that works to root out systemic corruption across Mexico’s public and private sectors.

However, the regulator has since clarified that the licences were granted to Clie SA de CV by order of the Metropolitan Regional Chamber of Administrative Justice. It also confirmed that the casinos have not yet launched any commercial operations. 

It added that Centenario and Diamante casinos, along with the online gambling site CrownCityBets, have had their licences suspended ever since the court order was issued.  

Notably, the regulator stated that contrary to Reforma’s reporting, the 20 licences are operated under permits assigned to separate independent entities, not Clie SA de CV.  

Former SEGOB Chief Denounces Reforma 

Luisa María Alcalde, who led SEGOB as its head between 2023 and 2024, also pushed back against Reforma’s claims this week.  

She explained that the company connected to Bermúdez Requena’s family received only one single licence back in 2017, during the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto. 

Alcalde also confirmed that when she took office at SEGOB, Clie SA de CV had already filed a lawsuit against the regulator over its denial of 20 permits the company had requested starting in 2018. 

SEGOB complied with the subsequent court order and issued the 20 licences, but followed the strict limitations laid out in the ruling. These limitations mean the licences do not cover slot machines, dice, card games or roulette. 

Alcalde claimed the limitations had reduced the company’s interest in launching operations, and as a result the licences have never been used to date. 

“Pro-corruption actors, acting in their typical fashion, want to tie me to the former secretary of public security of Tabasco,” Alcalde said in a video posted to X.  

“They even published a photograph from an event I attended as interior secretary, where absolutely all state secretaries of public security took part, and most of them asked me for a photo.  

“I had never met this Requena man in my life. In all the positions I have held, I have [never] committed a single act of corruption or dishonesty.” 

Gambling Industry Trade Body Weighs In 

The Association of Licence Holders, Operators and Suppliers of the Entertainment and Gaming Industry in Mexico (AIEJA) also commented on the case, expressing its “respectful support” for the regulator’s position and Alcalde’s clarifications. 

AIEJA also suggested Reforma misrepresented the story, stating: “In this regard, AIEJA considers it essential that information related to permits, authorisations, establishments and operations in the sector be treated with objectivity, truthfulness and strict adherence to documented facts. 

“Based on this premise, the association calls for responsible and accurate public discourse on issues related to this industry, in order to preserve the legal certainty of a formally regulated sector that is subject to ongoing supervision.”