In renewed attempts to stem the tide of Covid-19 infections, brick-and-mortar casinos in Mexicali, Baja California, shut down in December and will remain closed indefinitely. The Mexican has returned to Tier 4 Covid-19 restrictions with the shutdown of all non-essential businesses.
According to GamblingNews.com, the Mexican government has established a four-tier color-coded system that gauges Covid risk from the lowest level, green, to the highest level, red, where it now stands. At red-alert level, only essential businesses are permitted to function.
Mexicali Mayor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda made the decision in collaboration with health authorities, the municipal government, the Ministry of Economy and the State Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Coepris). In October, the mayor tested positive for coronavirus.
Casinos in the state employ 6,000 people, said Secretary of Sustainable Economy and Tourism Mario Escobedo Carignan, and the loss of those jobs is a grave concern in the region.
Presently, some 300 casinos operate across the country and “new venues are constantly popping up,” per GamblingNews.com. Mexican President Manuel López Obrador seems to want to manage the sector more strenuously than former President Vicente Fox López Obrador. In October, he announced that licenses granted to two operators would be revoked. The Secretariat of the Interior granted a new license to Wadcor for 12 years allowing it to open up to 10 establishments. The second license was given to Mexico-based True Win Group.
