In Ciudad de México there are no street bookies, but Mexicans gamble heavily on the Internet. The market is controlled by Caliente, the main sponsor for half of the clubs in the first league. It's a betting company owned by an eccentric billionaire with a bossy mentality, which reminds of Gigi Becali.
If in Bucharest you see a betting agency on almost every larger block, in Ciudad de México you have the impression that this industry does not exist.
- Sergiu Alexandru and Ionuț Iordache (photo) are at the World Championship and will sign special correspondence for Gazeta Sporturilor during the final tournament in Mexico, Canada and the USA
Only one form of street gambling survives on the streets of CDMX: Loteria Nacional.
Where do Mexicans bet? Casinos in the mall, profits of hundreds of millions and the hegemony of the billionaire Jorge Hank Rhon
In Mexico, the legislation managed by SEGOB (Secretaría de Gobernación) is extremely strict: gambling is prohibited in residential areas.
But that doesn't mean the Mexican doesn't gamble. The vice is only allowed inside large shopping complexes. There you don't find a three-seat bar, but mega-casinos operated by the Spanish giant Codere or the local one, Caliente.
How Caliente swallowed all of Mexican soccer
While in the Romanian Superliga the market is an arena in which 5-6 large operators share their influence, in Mexico we witness an absolute hegemony.
Caliente.mx does not need street agencies because it has simply bought Mexican soccer.
Caliente is the main sponsor of many teams in the Mexican first league
The brand has an estimated market share of more than 60% of all online betting in Mexico.
In a country of more than 120 million inhabitants, where football is king, Caliente has become a money factory. The group's annual net profits amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Portrait of the “Don” of Tijuana
Behind this empire valued at billions of dollars is not a board of anonymous corporatists, but one of the most eccentric characters in all of Latin America: Jorge Hank Rhon.
This is the son of former Mexico City mayor and legendary PRI politician Carlos Hank González, author of the famous maxim: “A poor politician is a stupid politician.”
Jorge Hank Rhon was also mayor, only of the city of Tijuana, located on the US border.
Passionate about mysticism, Hank Rhon is famous for his private zoo in Tijuana, where he houses thousands of exotic animals, including white tigers, panthers and bears.
Billionaire Hank Rhon has 23 children and despises women
His name has often been associated in international media and federal investigations with murky episodes — from suspected cartel ties to the 2011 Mexican military raid on his property, where more than 80 heavy-caliber firearms were found.
Each time, “Don Jorge” came out clean, protected by the huge influence of his money.
4.3 billion dollarsis Jorge Hank Rhon's estimated net worth by Forbes, but this amount is not an accurate one considering that many of his businesses are not transparent
Rhon has 23 children with multiple women and a boss mentality. Asked at a press conference what his favorite animal was, considering his famous zoo, he grinned: “Woman is my favorite animal.”
