Illinois Gaming Board Moves to Hand License to Alleged Money Launderer and Wildlife Trafficker With Ties to Mexican Drug Cartel

Can we trust the Gaming Board to have the best interests of our communities in mind? It seems we cannot, as they are working to Illinois’ single online-only gambling operator license to someone with various arrests and involvement in drug trafficking, wildlife trafficking, illegal gun possession, money laundering, and even potential connection to assassination.

The Illinois Gambling Board, the government agency charged with overseeing the gambling industry in the state, including the Chicago casino proposal, has advanced an application for an online-only sports wagering license for Grupo Caliente. Grupo Caliente and its owner Jorge Hank Rhon have been cited by the New York Inspector General as "the subject of numerous allegations of illegal activities" and Rhon “has been suspected by U.S. law enforcement and Mexican authorities of illegal money laundering activities related to illicit drug trafficking, particularly with the Arellano Felix drug cartel based in Tijuana.”

Mr. Rhon has been surrounded by controversy for decades, therefore granting Grupo Caliente a license would harm the integrity of the Illinois Gaming Board and cast doubt on its effectiveness as a regulator.

When the people regulating gambling see an operator who has been suspected of money laundering, wildlife trafficking, and ties to drug trafficking for the Mexican cartels as acceptable, it demonstrates even further why the citizens of Chicago can't trust the Lightfoot administration's claims that the casino regulatory approval process will protect our communities.

While the Lightfoot administration wants to dismiss concerns about gambling addiction impact by arguing there is a strong regulatory process in place through the Gaming Board, it is clear that this process can’t be trusted to prevent harm. The city must take responsibility for examining this issue and not assume that Gaming Board approval guarantees that there are no concerns.