Bet365 and Betano Have Ceased Operations in Mexico

Bet365 and Betano have stopped operating for users in Mexico after their local partners — Ganador Azteca SAPI de CV and Operadora Ganador TV Azteca SAPI de CV, both part of Grupo Salinas — were added to the UIF’s list of blocked legal entities. Access to their websites and apps has been restricted, and payment processing has been halted. Although both brands formally held valid licenses, regulators linked their operations to a broader financial scheme under investigation, involving 13 casinos and cross-border money flows allegedly used by drug cartels.

Online Betting as a Tool in Cartel Financial Schemes

The suspension of Bet365 and Betano has become a major development in an extensive investigation where online gambling is viewed as part of the infrastructure used to launder profits for the Cártel de Sinaloa. Mexican and U.S. regulators found that digital betting platforms were operating in tandem with land-based casinos, forming a unified system for cash-out, movement, and legalization of illicit funds.

Financial Activity Around the Online Operators

The UIF’s primary concerns focus on financial transactions rather than the gambling model itself. Regulators point to heavy cash use, large cross-border transfers, and the involvement of foreign payment processors operating outside Mexican oversight. The schemes also include transactions routed to Malta and the UAE, enabling the anonymization of beneficiaries and obscuring the origin of funds.

Connecting Online Transactions With Offline Cash Flows

Deposits and withdrawals made through Bet365 and Betano platforms were processed via Grupo Salinas structures. This led regulators to treat online operations as an extension of the offline segment, where cash was accepted. According to the SHCP and UIF, online activity was used to break up large cash amounts and create the appearance of legitimate revenue streams.

The Hysa Network and the Cártel de Sinaloa Infrastructure

A parallel investigation has exposed links to the Albanian Hysa group, designated by the U.S. Treasury as a transnational criminal organization. Dozens of individuals and companies, along with ten land-based casinos across Sinaloa, Sonora, Baja California and Tabasco, have been sanctioned. Authorities in both Mexico and the U.S. report that Hysa leveraged gambling venues — including their online extensions — to launder cartel proceeds with approval from the Cártel de Sinaloa.

The 13 Land-Based Casinos Under Investigation

The SHCP and UIF have not disclosed the full list of the 13 properties subject to account freezes. It is known, however, that they span eight states and have been classified as high-risk due to suspected links to organized crime. In parallel, the U.S. has listed ten casinos connected to the Hysa network: Emine Casino, Casino Mirage, several Midas Casino branches, Palermo Casino, Skampa Casino, and a venue in Tabasco. These are primarily offline establishments, some of which also operated online extensions to support the broader flow of funds.

How the Money-Laundering Schemes Worked

According to UIF and SHCP, the schemes relied on straw players with accounts, cards, and gambling profiles registered in their names, inflated cash revenues in casino cages, and large-scale international transfers between Mexico, the U.S., Canada, Belize, Panama, Romania, Poland, and Albania. Some transactions moved through jurisdictions commonly used in online gambling, allowing cash accepted in land-based casinos to be broken up through online bets and then withdrawn abroad as “clean” funds.

Regulatory Response and Market Consequences

Mexico has applied account-block measures to the 13 casinos and filed complaints with the Fiscalía General de la República under articles related to money laundering, criminal association, and tax offenses. At the same time, OFAC froze assets belonging to dozens of individuals and businesses, while FinCEN imposed restrictions isolating the ten Hysa-linked properties from the U.S. financial system. The combined actions have led regulators to view online gambling platforms as a key mechanism through which cartels merge the speed and anonymity of digital transactions with the large cash flows of land-based casinos.