Managing Editor
What started as a seemingly minor spat over an online casino ad at the Miss Universe competition in Thailand has spiraled into a massive scandal for the entire franchise. That culminated last week in the revelation that the pageant’s President, Raúl Rocha Cantú, had an arrest warrant issued in his home country of Mexico for suspected criminal relationships that include arms deals with two of the country’s notorious cartels.
It’s a layer-cake of controversy, but Miss Mexico, Fátima Bosch, was the initial catalyst. Her promotion of the Philippines-licensed Playtime Casino brought Rocha into conflict with Nawat Itsaragrisil, the pageant’s National Director for Thailand. Online gambling is illegal in Thailand, and Itsaragrisil berated Bosch for displaying a banner to promote Playtime, which is a partner of Miss Universe. Rocha defended Bosch, and other contestants staged a walkout in solidarity.
That seemed like the extent of things until Bosch went on to win the Miss Universe title for 2025. Her composure in face of Itsaragrisil’s verbal abuse had helped make her a fan favorite. Miss Thailand, Praveenar Singh, finished second.
A Magnet for Controversy
Bosch’s victory proved controversial, however. Two judges had resigned in the lead-up to the final, with one claiming the result had been dictated in advance. It also came out that Rocha’s wide-ranging business interests included a 2023 deal with Pemex, where Bosch’s father was a long-time executive.
Topping off the layer-cake was the announcement that Rocha is under investigation by Mexico’s Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime. It isn’t the first time the authorities have shown an interest in him. He fled to the U.S. to avoid scrutiny after the 2011 arson attack on his Casino Royale in Monterrey, but was eventually able to return to Mexico. The latest allegations include fuel smuggling and arms sales to the Jaliso New Generation and Unión Topito cartels.
Miss Universe has been a magnet for controversy in recent years. Miss USA 2023, Noelia Voigt, resigned in May 2024, a few months after Cantú took a 50% stake in the company. Her announcement was light on specifics, but mentioned a “toxic work environment” and mental health issues. Fan speculation abounded after it was noticed that the first letters of each sentence in her message spelled I AM SILENCED.
In the wake of the Thailand pageant scandal, it also came out that Itsaragrisil’s business partner in the Miss Universe venture, media mogul Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, has an arrest warrant out in Thailand on suspicion of fraud.
Gambling Connections for Rocha and Miss Universe
Rocha’s business interests span a number of industries, including retail gambling in Mexico. Even after the Casino Royale attack killed 52 people and forced him out of the country, he maintained a presence in that space.
Some reporting around the scandal suggests that he also has investments in online gambling. PokerScout has been unable to find a concrete basis for that claim, which may stem from a misunderstanding of the sponsorship deal between Playtime and Miss Universe.
Playtime Casino is privately owned, so internal details are sparse. It is licensed by the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). Key executives, including CEO Roy Santos, are likewise Filipino.
Online gambling in the Philippines is controversial in its own right. Although it was illegal within the country, then-President Duterte in 2016 authorized so-called POGOs — Philippines Offshore Gambling Operators. These PAGCOR-licesned entities were permitted to operate in the Philippines but serve clientele abroad. Most notably, that included China, where online gambling is also illegal, yet very popular. That brought the two countries’ governments into conflict and also created problems domestically in the Philippines, due to early POGOs’ connections to Chinese organized crime, the details of which are reminiscent of the recently-demolished KK Park scam center in Myanmar.
A policy reversal and crackdown followed, but weeding out the problematic POGOs has proven difficult.
Playtime is a newer addition to the market under the reformed regime. Launched in 2023, it purports to be the fastest-growing PAGCOR-licensed entity, with 15 million users as of August 2024. There was speculation earlier this year that it would be going public, which it refuted.
The partnership with Miss Universe is recent, having only been struck in October, ahead of the Miss Universe Thailand competition. Nonetheless, it claims to respect other countries’ gambling laws and that it does not accept Thai players, despite promoting itself at the pageant.
Cartel Troubles
The attack on Casino Royale stands as one of the most notorious cartel massacres in Mexico’s history. The victims were mostly middle-aged women gambling at the casino. A few were shot, but most died of smoke inhalation during the fire.
The arson was attributed to the Zeta Cartel and thought to be part of a broader battle for control of retail gambling in Mexico. Casinos are important to organized crime in Mexico and elsewhere because they are useful in laundering money from drug sales and other illegal operations.
Multiple Mexican news outlets have reported that the latest investigation into Rocha also involve cartels. He’s firstly suspected of involvement in a scheme to smuggle fuel between Mexico and Guatemala. Rocha had been granted an honorary consulship by Guatemala in 2021. However, the Guatemalan government withdrew the honor last week, after news of the investigation broke.
Rocha is also reportedly suspected of having connections to arms deals involving the heavily militarized Jaliso New Generation Cartel and its rival, Unión Tepito. The latter is unusual for its use of all-female cells.
One outlet, Reforma, claims to have spoken to sources within the Mexican government saying Rocha has negotiated a deal with prosecutors to trade information for immunity from prosecution.
