A journalistic investigation determined that in at least 12 state casinos, legislation is not respected, leading various opposition officials to demand greater transparency in the enforcement of the law and in the dissemination of penalties.
Mexico.- After a local media investigation by ABC News revealed that in at least 12 casinos in Nuevo León the anti-smoking law was not respected, deputies in the local Congress agreed that the Health Ministry must tighten measures to enforce the rule, as well as demonstrate greater transparency regarding the issued penalties.
Deputy Mauro Guerra from PAN even criticized that, if the law is correctly applied, the collection of penalties could be directed towards improvements in state medical services and its various programs, hence he called for the necessary inspections to be carried out on betting houses.
“It is an issue where compliance with the Law has not been achieved, there have been complaints about this and that it is applied differently depending on the business type, but here the issue must be that the law is respected, the state government and the responsible areas must ensure proper development and not try to favor a few," the deputy expressed.
Moreover, Guerra was emphatic in adding: "The Health Ministry should also provide figures, explain what is being inspected, what is being penalized, and hopefully we do not fall into questionable times when the Health Ministry only pursued politicians and allowed poor health conditions in other sectors."
ABC News visited 14 of the 31 casinos existing in Nuevo León, and in almost all of them tobacco is consumed, and although some have a special area for smoking, this does not isolate them from the rest of the customers, who become passive smokers, a situation equally dangerous for health. The visited casinos are mostly located in the municipalities of Monterrey and Guadalupe, and only two of them prohibit tobacco consumption, according to the media survey.
According to the media, with the exception of Caliente and Codere, the other casinos ignored the signs that prohibited smoking, even some customers had ashtrays on their gaming machines to smoke and gamble.
The deputy from Morena in Nuevo León, Berenice Martínez, pointed out that it is a delicate issue that mainly translates into health impacts for non-smokers, combined with the eventual non-compliance by the Health authorities. “Great care must be taken on this issue, to act according to the law, to apply the measures because there is already sufficient legislation that prevents smokers from being inside restaurants and casinos, it not only affects smokers but also those around them," she said.
For Martínez, it is necessary “that the Law is applied along with the necessary measures to protect all citizens who attend these types of venues where compliance is not being achieved. We hope that the necessary measures are taken.”
See also: Businessmen claim that Mexico's Anti-Smoking Law pushes casinos into illegality
Regarding this, the vice-coordinator of Movimiento Ciudadano, Sandra Pámanes stated that there is a current law that must be respected and called for inspections and necessary penalties to be applied. “This transparency and even pointing out on the portals of the Ministry, about the fines and establishments that incur in any fault so that it is a strong call of attention towards them and although it does not favor any business being evidenced in this way, it strengthens the application of the law,” she added.
The Ministry of Finance, Economic Transition, and Digital Transformation, through the entity Procesa, launched specialized free courses, in both face-to-face and online modalities.
Spain.- The Ministry of Finance, Economic Transition, and Digital Transformation of the city of Ceuta, through the entity Procesa, opened the registration period to participate in a series of specialized courses within the online gaming sector. The registration period will be open until October 20.
Through the training of specialties, it seeks to "establish a permanent ecosystem that provides the online gaming companies established in Ceuta, with the necessary human capital for the development of their activities," indicated the organization.
The currently available courses include CRM/VIP Manager and Customer Service. Additionally, new registrations for the courses Product Manager and Payments, Fraud, and Money Laundering are expected to open once the initial course registrations are complete. Lastly, the Marketing Operations course will open at a later stage.
The courses are free, available in face-to-face and online modalities, with a maximum capacity of 20 students each. Students have the possibility of being hired by online gaming companies that are already based in Ceuta or will be soon. Each applicant can only register for one course. Likewise, if a participant completes a course, they cannot enroll in subsequent courses.
See also: How much the gaming sector grew in Spain in 2023
In September, Ceuta was the scene of the II Spanish Economic Forum, organized by El Español and Invertia, in collaboration with the Government of the Autonomous City and the Chamber of Commerce. During the event, key topics for the economic development of the city were addressed, with special attention to strategic sectors such as online gaming.
In other news, a study revealed that 78 percent of the economic turnover of the city of Ceuta comes from 3 percent of its companies, all linked to gambling and betting activities. The study was conducted by Insight View, which provides information on companies and self-employed workers in 73 countries, as reported by the local media Ceuta Actualidad.
