Mexican online casinos for Real Money

It is legal for players to gamble in land-based establishments and has been since 1947. The Federal Gambling Law – known as the Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos, stipulates that casinos are legal in the country, and many rely heavily on American tourists to keep them in business. There is no law that stops Mexicans from visiting these casinos, although the Mexican authorities do have protective measures in place to prevent problem gambling amongst Mexicans. Just shy of 300 casinos and betting establishments exist in Mexico.

When it comes to online gambling, Mexico first legalised internet betting in 2004, with the passing of the Regulations of the Federal Games and Draw Law. The Ministry of the Interior issues licenses to sportsbooks, online lotteries, and poker companies. However, Mexico isn’t really open to too many foreign operators. Instead, most Mexicans are forced to play at offshore casinos.

The good news is that Mexicans are relatively free to bet at offshore casinos. An offshore casino is deemed “a grey zone” and, therefore, you can escape punishment playing there if it is licensed (by some authority). Unlicensed casinos are deemed illegal, and you are not to play at those.

As you can see, there is some wiggle room with what Mexicans are allowed to do, and that makes it a rather open country when it comes to gambling online.

The issuing of licenses is handled by the Ministry of the Interior. However, it should be noted that only sportsbooks, lotteries, and poker sites are awarded licenses. Online casinos don’t seem to make the cut right now. The Ministry of the Interior also provides regulation to all sites that have obtained a gambling license in Mexico.

Mexican gambling licenses aren’t particularly open to foreign operators. Instead, it is purely Mexican businesses that can apply for them or at least foreign operators that have some ties to a licensed Mexican gambling venue. After the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the Mexican gambling industry, the government did discuss potentially opening the market to foreign businesses. However, that has not yet come to pass.

Again, you don’t need to worry too much about not being able to play at a Mexican-licensed casino. If you choose to play at an offshore casino, that is perfectly fine. Just make sure that the operator you choose to go with has been awarded a license from a reputable body, and there will be no punishments in store. Fortunately, we know the perfect array of operators for you to join, and we’ve listed many of them right here.

Mexicans love to bet on sports – which is clear from the fact that there are so many active sportsbooks licensed and legalised in Mexico. Poker is also popular in the Central American country, with a handful of top poker players of renown hailing from Mexico. Of course, Mexicans also love to bet on numbers, so lotteries and bingo games tend to do well amongst the betting population.

When it comes to casino games, it is not as though slots aren’t popular – they are. It is just that many Mexicans must venture to offshore casinos to play them, so they aren’t as accessible as sports betting and number betting options. Mexico has one or two providers who develop games for their licensed betting sites. However, we’re yet to see a major software provider branch out from Mexico to tackle the global online betting industry.

Mexican betting sites can be divided into two sites: those licensed in Mexico and those licensed elsewhere. Both tend to offer gameplay in English and Spanish, and you’ll find the same sorts of payment providers at those sites. However, Mexican licensed venues often lack casino games like slots, so only the offshore sites are going to be appealing if you want to play those sorts of games.

Mexican licensed sites do have a KYC process and strict regulations to ensure fair play and prevent problem gambling. This is something you should expect to see at all international sites, too, although many offer fewer tools and may be less regulated than their Mexican counterparts.