Mexico’s Interior Ministry has responded to reports linking casino permits to organised crime. 20 permits issued to Clíe S.A. de C.V. in 2024 were granted to comply with a court order, and none of them are operating.
The issue drew attention after local coverage linked those permits to the family of former Tabasco security official Hernán Bermúdez Requena, who has appeared in recent reporting tied to criminal investigations. SEGOB’s response separates the permits from any active casino operation.
Permits were issued after a court ruling
At the centre of the case is Operadora Clíe, a company that had sought multiple permits after earlier applications were rejected. The 20 permits were delivered in 2024 as part of a judicial ruling tied to a long-running administrative case.
SEGOB is presenting the permits as something it had to issue because of the court order, not as a policy choice. It also stressed that the permits are non-transferable and have not been used to open casinos or online gambling operations.
Case has widened into a broader licensing debate
The issue has moved beyond one company. It has raised fresh questions about how gambling permits are issued in Mexico and how old court cases can still affect the market years later. Mexico’s gambling system still runs under an old legal framework that has been criticised for lacking clarity and modern rules. That has kept licensing disputes alive for years. It has also added to pressure on authorities to give clearer answers about how permits are granted, challenged and enforced.
Mexico’s permit rules limit transfer and use
Mexico’s official gambling guidance states that permits are non-transferable and cannot be sold, assigned or commercially transferred. That means a permit does not automatically create an operating casino that can simply change hands or move freely to another party.
That point adds useful context to the current dispute. Even where permits exist, they still sit inside a federal system that places restrictions on how they can be used and who can use them.
