That leads to sportsbooks competing with each other for customers which, in turn, leads to lower juice, better bonuses, and all the other perks that free markets bring to the consumer. (One website estimates that nearly 500 online sportsbooks accept users from Mexico.) On the plus side, the lackluster regulatory framework has resulted in the market being flooded with choice. The status quo is both good and bad for Mexican bettors. And the lack of a robust regulatory system has resulted in many unlicensed options being available in Mexico.Įfforts were made to revamp the country’s gaming laws in 2017 in order to bring “necessary federal oversight” to the online betting and gaming industry, but those efforts fell through, which means the status quo will prevail for the time being.Īs Miguel Angel Ochoa Sanchez (president of the AIEJA, Mexico’s trade association of license holders) told, “absent a proper online gambling licensing regime, international operators continue to dominate the local market.” What Are the Pros and Cons of the Current Legal Regime? Under the current laws, unlicensed offshore sportsbooks are not legally allowed to offer their services to Mexicans, but it’s clear that Mexican residents are free to play at foreign sportsbooks, whether they are licensed or not. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has the authority to regulate the industry, according to Cesar Morales Galan of Deloitte Mexico, but it has not taken a terribly proactive approach to doing so. As such, the laws ought to be interpreted as covering online betting.īut the fact of the matter is that Mexico lacks a coherent online licensing system, and the end result is that the online betting market in Mexico is dominated by foreign-based sites, many of which do not hold licenses. Most of the applicable laws do not specifically account for online sports betting because they were drafted before the internet was a common sports-betting medium.

That’s why Mexican sports bettors need to be especially careful to bet with regulated sites that will always honor their bets and pay out. In practice, however, a huge range of unregulated sites are easily accessible online. In theory, the industry is wholly regulated and subject to a licensing system that includes both online and in-person, retail operators. Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Mexico? We recommend the use of licensed sportsbooks Is it safe to use unlicensed sportsbooks? Yes, but the online industry is very under-regulatedĪre online sportsbooks required to have a license in Mexico? Is the sports betting industry regulated in Mexico? Mexican Sports Betting FAQs Is sports betting legal in Mexico?

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