In Tijuana, gambling makes noise

Slot-like machines may skirt 1947 law
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Photo by JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune

TIJUANA – Inside a storefront on the city's tourist strip, a minicasino full of gaming machines has opened despite laws prohibiting most forms of gambling in Mexico.

Several hundred machines chirp and beep as patrons, hunched over electronic screens, sip drinks and smoke cigarettes at Caliente. With hardly any publicity, this gambling room on Avenida Revolucion, open 11 a.m. to 6 a.m., has become an attraction for locals and visitors since it started operating several months ago.

Part of Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon's business empire, the venue bills its games as “Bingo Electronico.”

Mexican law restricts gambling to sports betting and dominoes, dice and pool. Most Las Vegas-style games, such as poker and blackjack, are considered illegal, and they aren't part of the Caliente room on Revolucion. The country's 1947 law, of course, couldn't have envisioned and doesn't cover video gambling machines.

In the past two years, Mexico has seen a quiet proliferation of minicasinos stocked with the machines. Mexican companies have interpreted new gaming regulations issued in 2004 as legalizing video gaming devices, though some lawyers and gambling experts say they are exploiting a loophole.