Mexico Cracks Down on Illegal Gambling Following a Homicide

A recent homicide prompted Sinaloa’s government to crack down on illegal gambling venues. The state’s government jumped into action following the murder of a young man at an illegal casino.

A Murder Took Place in an Illegal Casino

The victim of the homicide is Jesús Guadalupe, a 23-year-old man who went to play at one of Sinaloa’s unlicensed venues. Guadalupe lived in Culiacán. According to his neighbors, he came to the city about a year ago and began work as a construction mason. One day, Guadalupe visited the illegal casino, located in a private house in Culiacán, where he got into some kind of conflict. As a result, an unidentified murderer pulled out a gun and shot the young man several times. The shots proved to be fatal.

The murderer fled before the police arrived. Although law enforcers are almost certain that Guadalupe was the murderer’s intended target, they are yet to confirm who did the deed. Investigators later took a look into the victim’s history but couldn’t find any ties with Mexico’s organized crime.

The investigation will continue.

Sinaloa’s Gov Promised to Curb Illegal Casinos

Meanwhile, Rubén Rocha Moya, governor of the Mexican province, was furious to learn of the young man’s death and warned the black gambling market that he is about to take action. In a public statement, Rocha condemned the attack and the dreadful illegal casino ecosystem and promised to shut down all such venues.

However, tackling the black market is going to be an uphill battle. First of all, it would be very hard to track down all of the unlicensed gaming venues. In addition, toppling down a multi-billion industry is no easy undertaking. Even worse, according to reports, many organized crime groups have ties with people within the government and can avoid prosecution.

The silver lining is that the black market’s size often does it a disservice by helping law enforcers spot irregular activity. For example, illegal casinos would often spend a lot on electricity and would have some defining features such as dark windows. In many cases, neighbors may notice unusual traffic and report it to the police.

Legal Gambling Is Another Way to Defeat the Black Market

Rocha may be bullish on taking action against the illegal operators but another danger to the black market is the fast growth of the legal alternative. Recent statistics show that the country’s legal gambling ecosystem has been experiencing a strong recovery, which inspired operators to open new venues.

The gaming companies in Mexico have been inking new partnerships with the aim of enhancing their products and growing their market share. Codere Online recently inked an agreement with Box Azteca. Betcris, on the other hand, penned a deal with FC Juárez, a Ciudad Juárez-based soccer club.