A federal appeals court in Mexico has ruled in favour of Ganador Azteca, the company that runs Bet365 and Betano in the country, in its fight against the blocking of its sites ordered by the Interior Ministry (Segob). The decision does not immediately reopen the platforms or release players’ money, which remains frozen.
According to El CEO, the Twenty-Third Collegiate Court for Administrative Matters of the First Circuit decided the case at its session on 22 October 2026. The case was an amparo filed by Ganador Azteca against a district court that had denied it a definitive suspension of the block. That points to a ruling on interim relief rather than necessarily on the merits. Neither the case number nor the text of the ruling has been published.
What is known about the session
El CEO reports that Magistrate Martha Fabiola King Tamayo wrote the decision and ruled for the company after revising a draft she had presented at an earlier session, which contained “imprecisiones” (inaccuracies). Magistrate Itzell Martínez Martínez also voted in favour. She said the first draft had cited an alleged criminal investigation into Bet365 and Betano with no concrete link to this case, and that the reference was removed.
The same outlet says the ruling still has to be posted on the court’s notice boards and Segob must then comply. As of 23 October there was no public date for the sites to return and no official word on deposits, bets or withdrawals. The platforms had not issued a statement, and neither Segob nor the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) had commented publicly.
The news was first reported by TV Azteca, part of Grupo Salinas, the same group Ganador Azteca is tied to through Ricardo Salinas Pliego. Some headlines say the Interior Ministry acted with “illegality and arbitrariness”, but it is not confirmed that this wording comes from the ruling.
Almost a year offline
The UIF added Ganador Azteca and its operator to its list of blocked persons on 11 November 2025, and Bet365 and Betano went offline on 13 November. The UIF said it was investigating 13 casinos.
The litigation has swung back and forth. A district court granted a suspension allowing the companies to keep their domains, but not to operate. On 28 January 2026, this same appeals court revoked a suspension, reasoning that the block was a security measure supporting the financial investigation. In March, Judge Germán Cruz Silva granted the amparo, finding the companies’ right to be heard and to due process had been violated; the gaming directorate had said Ganador Azteca was picked “de manera aleatoria” (at random) from a UIF list.
El CEO also reports that Ganador Azteca has started a voluntary insolvency process (concurso mercantil). Its effect on the betting permit is unconfirmed.
What it means for operators and affiliates
The underlying question matters to the whole market: whether Segob can shut down a permit holder at the UIF’s request without a prior sanction procedure. Until the text of the ruling is available, there is no clear precedent operators can rely on.
For affiliates, the cautious course is not to restart Bet365 or Betano campaigns in Mexico until there is official confirmation of reopening and of Segob’s compliance. Even if the sites come back, player balances depend on the UIF unfreezing the accounts, and the insolvency filing adds uncertainty about the permit.
Player communication also needs care: promising that funds will be available would get ahead of facts nobody has confirmed. For licensed operators, the case is a reminder to keep compliance records with the UIF and Segob up to date.
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