The beneficiary company would have been Casino Win Club, which has nine casinos in Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Jalisco, State of Mexico, and Baja California, among others.
Mexico.- Senate candidate Gustavo Sánchez is being investigated by the Congress of Baja California due to irregularities in public works spending that increased almost 90 percent from the initial budget.
In 2017, works were assigned directly and large sums were paid to employees who were not working. In 2018, a famous casino was not paid, and extra payments of up to MXP $20m (USD 1,143,200) were discovered. One of the casinos involved is Casino Win Club, which has nine casinos spread between Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Jalisco, State of Mexico, and Baja California.
See also: A federal judge declares unconstitutional the ban on new casinos and slot machines in Mexico
Another irregularity detected by the State Audit Office involves 13 casinos related to alcohol sales: with permits for sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in open containers, but the law and regulations do not consider betting centers for this activity.
The result of this audit could lead to complaints and legal proceedings. According to the law, complaints must refer to possible damages to the Public Treasury or public assets. This could lead to an administrative process before the Administrative Justice Tribunal or complaints before the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Fight Against Corruption, with possible sanctions ranging from suspension to disqualification from holding public office.
Gabriel Regis granted the first three injunctions against changes to the Regulation of the Federal Law of Games and Draws.
Mexico.- More than six months after the issuance of the decree that reforms the Regulation of the Federal Law of Games and Draws (LFJS), which states that the federal government will not grant new permits to gambling slot machine establishments nor renew the license for those premises with current permits, and after the injunctions presented by the gaming businessmen, justice finally sided with the companies.
Judge Gabriel Regis, of the Sixteenth District in Administrative Matters, granted the first three injunctions against the modifications to the Regulation of the Federal Law of Games and Draws (LFJS).
The new regulation absolutely prohibits "number draws," a euphemism for slot machines, and only allows them to continue in 444 casinos that were operating at the end of 2023, until their permits expire.
According to Judge Regis, since 2016, the Supreme Court of Justice clarified that the LFJS - which has not been reformed since 1947 - does allow draws, and that this term is applicable to machines of symbols or numbers, whose outcome depends on chance and not on the player's skill.
By protecting 26 casino licensees and operators, led by the firms Eventos Festivos de México, Operadora Megawin, and Operadora Lami, the judge who handles the majority of the lawsuits on this issue also held that it violates the right to free development of the personality of those who bet on these machines.
Regis also ruled against Article 91 of the Regulation, in which the Executive prohibited games of roulette, dice, and cards, stating that they cannot be considered as "draws."
See also: AIEJA seeks to boost the casino sector that generates 120,000 indirect jobs in Mexico
The sentences include a study of the mechanics of roulette and poker, concluding that the former is entirely random, so it can be seen as a draw, according to the Court's criteria, while card games are a mix of chance and skill, and dice are expressly authorized by the LFJS.
Furthermore, Regis declared unconstitutional the obligation to process a new permit with the Ministry of the Interior when changing the location of a casino, and the prohibition of maintaining slot machines when permits are extended.
