Casino and Mafia (Mexico)

Prologue: why "excitement" and crime met at the border

The Prohibition era in the United States (1920-1933) turned Mexico's border cities into a magnet for drinking and playing: American tourists traveled to Tijuana en masse, and border business quickly overgrown with legends about gangsters and gray schemes. Historians and journalists note that it was then that Tijuana began to be described as a "platform" for semi-legal entertainment, although many stories about "Capone's visits," etc., remain part of local folklore, and not a proven fact.

"Agua Caliente" (1928-1935): Luxury, Stakes, and a Sudden Ending

On June 22, 1928, the Agua Caliente Casino & Hotel resort opened in Tijuana - a grandiose complex with a hotel ~ 500 rooms, a golf course, a hippodrome and a casino; he became a symbol of the "golden" border era. It was owned by North American investors along with the then Governor of Baja California, Abelardo L. Rodriguez (later President of Mexico). In 1935, newly elected President Lazaro Cardenas banned casinos, and the complex was closed (the hippodrome, however, continued to work and was later revived in a different format).

💡 "Agua Caliente" became the subject of research and books about the borderline "inspired" corruption of the era; in scientific and local history literature, the connections of investors and officials are described in detail, as well as the subsequent expropriation of part of the property in the late 1930s.

Cardenas' big ban and rules reset

It was Cárdenas's course of "moral" and social reform in the 1930s that covered the blooming gambling parlors: the 1935 closings were a blow to the Tijuana industry. This line continued in federal law - Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos (1947) secured a rigid framework of accepted formats (draws, bets, etc.), and the criminal ban on excitement as a whole was lifted only in 1984/1985, after which regulation began to develop under the auspices of the feds.

Grey area and "long shadows": between culture and enforcement

After 1947, legal forms of the game were preserved, but some of the practices went "into the shadows": border bars, private clubs, local "systems" of betting. Studies about the border region describe how the American mafia and local patrons in different years tried to capitalize on the demand for alcohol, bets and shows - from Prohibition to the post-war era.

Casino Royale tragedy (Monterrey, 2011): when "protection" kills

On August 25, 2011, Los Zetas cartel militants set fire to the Royale casino in Monterrey: 52 dead, dozens injured. The investigation and the media reported that the attack was a "punishment" to the owner for refusing to pay the extortionists. This episode was a shock for the country and one of the largest crimes against civilians in the "drug war"; for years to come, he determined the security and control agenda in the sector.

What the State Did: Frame and Oversight

Federal competence in gambling remains with the center: SEGOB/DGJS (Ministry of the Interior/Directorate of Games and Draws) issue permits and supervise the market. Modern regulatory guides emphasize that the current base is the 1947 law and its regulations (2004 and subsequent adjustments), and the "digitization" of the sector is kept in the permissive field.

Moral of history: lessons for industry and players

1. Transparency and licensing. Historical "backlash" in law enforcement is a convenient door for crime; the clearer the permissive regime and audit, the less space for "protection" and violence.

2. Site safety. The tragedy of 2011 showed the cost of ignoring threats: evacuation plans, open emergency exits, cameras and interaction with law enforcement officers are not a formality.

3. Cultural specificity. Border and tourist clusters are historically more vulnerable to "gray" influences - they need deliberately stricter compliance and RG standards.

The story of the "casino and mafia" in Mexico is an arc from the glamor of Agua Caliente and border legends to the harsh ban on Cardenas in 1935, further legal centralization (1947) and the tragedy of Casino Royale (2011), which reminded: as long as there is demand and "holes" in supervision, crime will try to enter the industry. The answer is legal. mx operators, strict security and transparency, submission to the federal SEGOB/DGJS framework and zero tolerance for "protection." This makes the modern market noticeably more stable than in the era of romanticized "border" salons.