Mexico shuts down 13 casinos for alleged organized crime connections and money laundering

Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit has shut down 13 casinos after a multi-month investigation into organized crime and money laundering.

Working with the Security Cabinet, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit has identified 13 casinos as part of an investigation into organized crime and money laundering. It uncovered signs relating to cash operations, international transfers, and the use of unsupervised digital platforms that labelled the casinos “high financial risk”.

La Secretaría de Hacienda refuerza acciones institucionales para impedir el lavado de dinero a través del uso de casinos por presuntos grupos de la delincuencia organizada.https://t.co/zH9tCLLe2U#ComunicadoHacienda pic.twitter.com/a29WCtkByD

— Hacienda (@Hacienda_Mexico) November 12, 2025

The findings of the investigation have led to Mexican authorities blocking the casinos to protect users and remove any risk of them being used by organized crime groups.

Multimillion-dollar organized crime transactions spotted

In addition, signs of international money laundering were detected at gaming establishments across various regions, including Jalisco, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California, State of Mexico, Chiapas, and Mexico City. Some of those casinos are alleged to have carried out multimillion-dollar cash transactions, with transfers going to the US, Romania, Albania, Malta, and Panama.

Further suspicion was raised when it was found that apparent users of digital platforms were not in line with the amount of money being transferred. For example, housewives, students, retirees, and the unemployed were seemingly transferring large sums of money to the real recipient in exchange for a percentage fee, in an attempt to make the income appear as though it had come from casino games.

The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit now plans to file the complaints with the Attorney General, as well as notify the tax authorities.

“With this, the Ministry of Finance reaffirms the commitment of the Government of Mexico to strengthen inter-institutional coordination, prevent criminal infiltration in vulnerable sectors, and consolidate joint actions with security and law enforcement authorities to prevent casinos and betting platforms from being used by alleged organized crime groups, as well as to protect users and the population,” reads the official statement from the Ministry.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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