Starting with a quotation from Goethe: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do” the broadcaster Victor Sánchez Baños reported on the present situation with casinos in Mexico. Radio Formula described what the world has long suspected: that the illegal gaming interests are the principal lobbyists against gaming legislation in Mexico.

The saddest thing about it is that organizations such as the Catholic Church, business organizations and academics play into the hands of the corrupt in the world of gaming joints and illegal casinos. Using the old chestnuts of prostitution, money laundering and crime rates, the lobbyists are in fact defending illegal gaming in Mexico and are the accomplices in this national tragicomedy. Sánchez Baños points an accusing finger:

“There are financial interests in this great business that could be an important factor in attracting foreign tourists to the country. However, the principle obstacles to the formulation and enacting of a gaming law in Mexico, to put order in the industry, are the groups that actually control the ‘books’, regional fairs and authorities that are receiving money under the table from the proliferation of illegal gaming.

“These illegal business have become a major source of income for corrupt authorities that, under the halo of defending the morals and well-being of the public, inhibit the legitimate collection of taxes. All within the letter of the law.”

This is corruption on huge scale as illegal gaming moves billions of dollars every year. It benefits from the archaic gaming law of 1948 and the government delays its plans for modernizing the law, commissioning more studies and research.

All forms of gaming that remain unregulated by modern laws, including online gaming, can be seen as a crime against the state in any country. Money made by illegal operations only benefit those who run them or sanction them and leads to corruption. Well-regulated casinos will not generate an upward spiral of crime, as suggested by some. Problem gambling may bring some social cost, but it would be visible and treatable with proper laws in place. The social benefits would be greater and more enduring, particularly in third-world countries such as Mexico. As Sánchez Baños states, illegal casinos “create immense fortunes that pay no taxes.” (E-02.25.05)

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