Mexico Sports Betting
Mexico Sports Betting
Status: | Legal & Unlicensed |
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B&M Availability: | Lawful |
Online Availability: | Legal & Unlicensed |
Minimum Age: | 18+ |
Restrictions: | None |
Mexico’s sports betting industry is widespread and popular. Despite dozens of brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and a few racetracks, much of Mexico’s sports bettors gamble in an unlicensed market. Football betting is the most popular form of gambling, but boxing, basketball, baseball, and pari-mutuel horse racing are also popular. Mexico has more than its share of sports loved locally, such as charreada (rodeo), bull fighting, and Basque Pelota. Cockfighting is popular in the western half of Mexico, with wagers sometimes reaching as much as £40,000 per fight. Cockfighting is popular enough the Daily Mail featured the ‘El Asustado’ Ranch in Guadalajara in a 2015 article.
This introduction to Mexican sports betting discussed the full scope of Mexico’s sports betting culture. I’ll discuss Mexico’s sports betting laws, along with its sometimes-confusing regulatory framework. I’ll provide information on researching the best online sportsbooks while offering a couple of recommendations on bookmaker sites myself. Let’s start with the legality of sports betting in Mexico.
Mexican Sports Betting Legality
Mexican sports betting is legal, with a variety of licensed land-based sportsbooks in the country. Online gambling is a growing industry in the country, with the Interior Ministry licensing more international operators all the time. The unregulated gaming market remains a force, so sports bettors need to be certain of a sportsbook’s licensing before they make a deposit.
Mexico embraces gambling, so bettors do not face prosecution for gambling online, but a bettor needs to know their winnings will be paid. Despite the permissive attitude, Mexican lawmakers have made attempts in recent years to pass comprehensive gambling reform. The 1947 Federal Games and Draws Law (Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos), which is based on the authority under Section X of Article 73 of the Constitution of Mexico, governs Mexican gambling law.
Land-based Mexican casinos have been able to launch online gambling sites since 2004. Since then, many have signed partnership deals with international online gaming business. Licensed online gambling sites obtain a “Federal Mexican Gaming Permit”. Operators which have these include IMSC, Las Vegas From Home.com Entertainment (LVFH), the National Lottery of Mexico, Loteria Nacional para la Asistencia Public, and Prognosticos para la Asistencia Public.
Safety of Online Sports Betting in Mexico
Due to questions by Mexican lawmakers about SEGOB’s licensing process, Mexican sports bettors need to be careful which online sportsbooks they deposit money into. It is best to find reputable online bookmakers which hold licenses with international regulatory agencies in countries like Gibraltar, Malta, or United Kingdom. These are the most trusted gaming regulators in the world, so Mexican online sportsbooks with those ties can be trusted to make fast, reliable payouts.
Luckily, many of the best online sports betting sites have entered the Mexican gaming market, so you can find the safest and most secure bookmaker sites.
Catering to Mexican Sports Bettors
Online sportsbooks which cater to Mexican sports bettors need to offer a wide variety of sports markets, because Mexicans love to gamble on a wide variety of sporting events. Betting sites need to support Spanish language wagering while using customer representatives who are fluent in Spanish. The Mexican peso is the preferred currency, though many of the most trusted online sportsbooks rely on US dollars as their main currency option.
Because many operators remain unlicensed, the best Mexican online sportsbooks need to offer safe and secure deposits, along with reliable withdrawals. Increasingly, Mexican sports bettors want sites which are compatible with smartphone sports bets, including live/in-play betting.
Online Sports Betting in Mexico
A breakdown of what it’s like to bet online sports in Mexico
Top Mexican Sports to Bet On
Currencies
Languages
These options may not be available at all sportsbooks but represent typical experiences.
Best Mexican Betting Sites
The best Mexican betting sites provide desktop gambling with or without a download. Mexican bookmaker sites should be optimized for Android and iPhone live/in-play betting, which provide the ultimate convenience when making a sports wager. As mentioned before, sportsbooks need to offer many types of bets. Most of all, the top Mexican online sportsbooks need to have a reputation for safety, customer service, and reliable payouts. The two sites below match all the traits of a great Mexican sports betting site.
Top Ranked Mexican Betting Site – Sportsbetting.ag
- Accepts all major credit cards
- Accepts Litecoin, Bitcoin other cryptos
- Large assortment of sports betting markets
- Competitive odds for betting on many sports
- European football specific bonuses offered for the Cup
Why Is Sportsbook.ag The Best?
The SportsBetting.ag betting site offers most of the biggest sports, including Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Hockey (read review). They also have other international sports like soccer, rugby, and cricket. For the avid bettor, you can use their Live Betting to place bets in real-time. Pick from among dozens of different wagers you can place on a single match-up, along with great prop bets.
SportsBetting.ag offers new members plenty of bonuses, like their 50% up to $1,000 in Free Bets using the code “SB1000“. For those that use Bitcoin, can take advantage of their $20 up to $500 Bitcoin bonus using the promo code “BETCRYPTO“. Take advantage of their bonuses, live betting, and incredible sports betting odds with a sign-up bonus of 50% Up To $1,000. Check out Sportsbetting.ag to place bets and win!
Great For Betting On International Sports – Betonline Sportsbook
- Accepts all major cryptocurrencies
- Accepts all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard)
- Posts sports betting odds earlier than others
- Large cash or crypto deposit bonus and endless reloads
- Large bet on point spreads plus other popular sports bets
Why Bet At BetOnline?
BetOnline (read review) is one of the most versatile sites when it comes to deposit options. They accept a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dash. These are by far the best choice for players as they have an extremely high deposit and withdrawal amount.
BetOnline offers loads of year-round promotions for major sports. Their standard deposit bonus is 50% Up To $250 for players on their first deposit (newly signed-up). This deposit comes with a 10x rollover. They also offer several promotions such as $25 live betting freeplay, $50 mobile betting freeplay, and a risk-free $25 play prop bet. Check out BetOnline to place bets and win!
Depositing and Withdrawing in Mexico
Depositing and withdrawing in Mexico is simple. Due to its proximity to the United States, most of the American payment methods work equally well in Mexico. This includes Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. The withdrawal methods are not as plentiful, so most payouts over the years used bank transfers or check by courier. In 2017, punters have the option to receive bitcoin withdrawals, which offer the safest and most secure payments in online sportsbook gambling.
Mexican Deposit Options You Can Use
Mexican Withdrawal Options You Can Use
Mexican Gambling History
Mexican gambling history stretches back to the Aztecs, and perhaps even the Mayans. Mayan nobles played the Mesoamerican ballgame, which was seen as a battle between the lords of the underworld and their earthly rivals, with losers sometimes sacrificed to the gods. In the Aztec Empire, the game was called ollamalitzli, which was a direct precursor to modern-day ulama. The 16th-century, Fray Juan de Torquemada, told a story of an Aztec emperor who wagered his entire annual income on ollamalitzli, which is similar to modern racquetball. The Aztecs were known to teach the game in their schools, importing 16,000 rubber balls a year, and staging the game in common markets, where gambling was rife.
In the 19th Century, the Mexican-US border became famous for casinos, because of the United States’ ban on gambling. By 1920, many Mexican resorts catered to American gambling tourists. This ended in 1937, when the Mexican government banned casinos. In the 21st Century, Mexico is home to over 300 land-based casinos, often in border towns like Tijuana and Mexicali, or in tourist-filled port cities like Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Cancun, or Veracruz. The Mexican online gambling business is robust, with international operators like NetEnt, IGT, and Kambi entering the market in recent years. Mexican land-based gaming groups like Big Bola and Grupa Televiso are launching their own online gaming portals, often in partnership with international software designers.
Mexican Gambling Regulator
The Mexican Ministry of the Interior licenses and regulates gambling operations in Mexico. It often has been reported in gaming media that a Mexican Gaming Commission exists and Fernando Zarate Salgado is (or was) president, but that is not the case. Though Salgado, a prominent lawmaker until 2015, introduced several pieces of legislation to update Mexico’s 70-year old gaming laws.
At the time, Fernando Zarate Salgado was the head of a Special Investigative Commission, which sought to learn about SEGOB’s licensing policies, especially with the license assigned to Entretenimiento de México S.A. de CV. Salgado’s legislative proposals were introduced in 2014, but Mexico’s national House of Representatives failed to pass the amendments.
Website | Information |
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Mexican Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) | Mexico’s Interior Ministry, also known as SEGOB, provides licenses to gaming operators inside Mexico. The Mexican Data Protection Authority, an agency inside the government, and the Special Gaming Committee, organized by the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, have questions SEGOB’s policies for licensing operators. |
Senator Jose Maria Martinez | Sen. Jose Maria Martinez Martinez is known to be a key proponent of new gambling laws. A member of the National Action Party (PAN), Senator Martinez called on comprehensive gambling laws in the past few years. The senator’s contact information is located on the page thru the link. |
Fernando Zarate Salgado | Fernando Zarate Salgado is a political reformer in Mexico who once chaired the Special Gaming Commission. Salgado resigned from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) prior to the 2015 political elections, when the left-wing party lost seats. Due to the proportional representation system, Fernando Zarate Salgado remains a deputy with the Partido Verde Ecologista de Mexico (Ecologist Green Party of Mexico). His contact information is provided through the link. |