During her daily morning press conferences, the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, assured that the policy of not granting new permits for casinos remains unchanged.
When asked by a journalist about the construction and opening of a new gaming hall in Naucalpan, the Jubilee Casino, the president assured that the policy of the Fourth Transformation “has not changed.”
In this regard, she asked the Secretary of the Interior to review the specific case of this establishment to confirm that there are no irregularities and added that, so far, no new licenses have been authorized.
When asking, the reporter had recalled that one of the main policies of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to avoid corruption practices had been the refusal to grant more permits for the opening of casinos; but that, however, in Naucalpan, the Jubilee Casino is about to open.
“We have to ask Rosa Icela [Secretary of the Interior] to review this case, because it has not changed, there are no more permits or licenses; there is even more surveillance and controls being put in place. So we are going to look at this case, because it shouldn’t be happening,” Sheinbaum said.
Permit Controversies
The operating company of the Jubilee obtained the permit in 2022 during the past municipal administration of Naucalpan, headed by Angélica Moya Marín, but the current municipal government filed a criminal complaint against the former mayor for the crime of abuse of authority, since she did not have the legal powers to grant this license.
However, according to local press reports, the irregular permit granted by Moya Marín was apparently ratified by the Secretary of the Interior during the time of current Senator Adán Augusto López.
For their part, the legal representatives of the project have reiterated that this permit was not issued during the current federal administration and that the previously granted authorization remains in effect. According to them, this position has been confirmed through federal communications.
It should be recalled that, at the end of 2024, President Sheinbaum ruled out that she plans to send a new Law on Games and Sweepstakes to Congress and expressed that the intention of her administration, through the Secretary of the Interior, is only to dialogue with the owners of the establishments.
