The news comes from a joint action with the United States Treasury and the Government of Mexico. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have been working with their North American counterparts to investigate HOCG’s actions.

Today, Treasury issued sanctions and has taken steps to cut off numerous Mexico-based gambling establishments involved in cartel-related money laundering.

We will continue to target those involved in supporting terrorist drug cartels.

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) November 13, 2025

Sinaloa Cartel is reliant on HOCG

The Department of the Treasury posted a release regarding a recent diplomatic engagement by Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.

Hurley was commissioned to work with Mexican intelligence agencies to reduce the impact that the cartel had across the globe, which perpetrated money laundering, drug trafficking, and other nefarious activities.

Luftar, Arben, Ramiz, Fatos, and Fabjon Hysa have all been sanctioned as part of a twenty-seven-person action and mass asset seizure by OFAC.

The Treasury statement reads that this action intends to “sever 10 Mexico-based gambling establishments’ access to the U.S. financial system due to money laundering.”

Casino locations under NPRM

FinCEN has also issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to ten casino locations in Mexico under section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.

The NPRM seeks to detach these entities from the US financial system, as investigations have shown that the Sinaloa Cartel relies heavily on them to launder money.

The special measure will prohibit these institutions from “opening or maintaining a correspondent account for any foreign banking institution if such account is used to process transactions involving any of the gambling establishments,” said the report.

The second section of the special measure will also require any of these locations or related institutions to apply for special due diligence to “their correspondent accounts that are reasonably designed to guard against the use of such accounts to process transactions involving any of the gambling establishments.”

The entertainment venues under the NPRM are Sonoran locations, including Emine Casino, Casino Mirage, and Midas Casino, as well as locations in Agua Prieta, Los Mochis, Guamuchil, Mazatlán, and Rosarito, Baja California.

Palermo Casino, Skampa Casino Ensenada, Baja California, and Skampa Casino Villahermosa, Tabasco, are also included in the NPRM.

“The United States and Mexico are working together to combat money laundering in Mexico’s gambling sector. Our message to those supporting the cartels is clear: You will be held accountable,” said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.

Featured image: Adobe Firefly

The post US targets Hysa Group operating Sinaloa Cartel casinos appeared first on Our Story Insight.

The Cyprus-based company features players entering lotteries for various goods, along with purchasing mystery boxes. Users can either win a prize or lose their entire stake.

Despite the company not possessing a valid licence to operate in Sweden, the Spelinspektionen discovered that the games were being offered to Swedish players.

Additionally, when accessed from a Swedish IP address, Swedish text and flag both appeared. This was the reason alone for the Gambling Authority to issue CGG Entertainment with a ban.

A translated statement from Spelinspektionen regarding the decision said: “The Swedish Gambling Authority prioritises measures that contribute to gambling taking place at the operators who have a Swedish gambling licence. We clarify the grounds for our decisions to ban illegal online gambling by publishing them on our website.”

It has been a busy few months for the Swedish Gambling Authority

Earlier this week, Spelinspektionen opened up yet another compliance probe into operator Svenska Spel.

The state-owned gambling company will be due for site visits from the authority, along with supervision of its gaming venue.

This comes just months after the company was given a fine of SEK 100 million ($10.4 million) due to having major shortcomings regarding player welfare.

Losses ranged from SEK 260,000 ($27,000) to SEK 600,000 ($62,000), costing players a large proportion of their yearly income in the process.

Furthermore, the regulator issued fines to operator Kanon Gaming as they breached the duty of care for users, while also banning Bitx Operations and Ryker BV for targeting players in Sweden without a valid licence.

There will also be a change in leadership at Spelinspektionen, as Camila Rosenberg’s stint as the director general of the SGA will come to an end this month after eight years in her role.

Featured image: Canva

The post CGG Entertainment is prohibited from operating in Sweden amid license issues appeared first on Our Story Insight.