New Mexico is a very popular state with gamblers, as it offers plenty of options. Horse racing has been legal for a long time, while other forms were permitted in the 1990s. The 90s saw agreements with Native American tribes, as well as the creation of a state lottery.
Since then, around 26 casinos have opened in New Mexico, including two commercial casinos. It is estimated that the casino revenue generated in New Mexico sits at just under $1 billion a year. Find out everything you need to know about gambling in New Mexico in our complete guide below!
Best Casino Sites New Mexico
Online Gambling Laws New Mexico
Online gambling hasn’t expanded as much in New Mexico as it has in some other states. The only form that has been officially regulated is off-track betting. TVG is currently the only website that is permitted to take wagers from gamblers within the state. However, the doesn’t explicitly; outlaw other forms of online gambling.
Daily Fantasy Sports are also available in New Mexico. Sites like DraftKings and FanDuel claim that they are permitted in the state, as they are games of skill, and thus legal. New Mexico’s attorney general has not issued its own opinion on the matter.
As for casino websites, there are numerous casinos, sports betting sites, and poker sites that accept players from New Mexico. None of these are licensed or regulated by New Mexico, so players must make sure they choose a safe site to gamble at.
Live Gambling
If you’re looking for live gambling action in New Mexico, there’s plenty of options in the state. There are two horse racetracks open in the state, where gamblers can bet on horse racing. The two racetracks also offer a selection of casino games, like slot machines, various electronic table games, and video poker machines.
On top of that, there are around 24 tribal casinos and two commercial casinos operating in New Mexico. These casinos can offer a wide range of casino games, including slot machines, video poker, poker, craps, roulette, blackjack, various forms of poker, and some electronic table games.
Finally, there is the state lottery. Players can buy various lotto tickets, as well as scratch cards. Then we have bingo nights and raffle drawings, which can be offered by non-profit clubs and religious organizations.
Gambling Laws in New Mexico
The gambling laws in New Mexico permit numerous forms of gambling and casino games. State charities can offer games of chance, provided they qualify as a non-profit organization. These include raffles, but these cannot have more than $75 000 in prizes.
The only way prize money can exceed this value is with ten days’ notice provided to the New Mexico Gaming Commission. Raffles and bingo can only be held once a month, with a maximum of four per year. The only exception is senior organizations, which can offer bingo nights as often as they want.
The racetracks are required to hold a license with the state’s gaming commission, with off-track betting permitted at these licensed tracks. The tracks can also offer various casino games, and pay a 46.25% tax rate to the state.
Finally, we have the state’s casinos. Any Tribal casinos are required to have a gaming compact with the state. The law doesn’t ban any casino games, meaning slots and table games are all permitted. Casinos pay the state a tax rate of 9%.
Gambling History
Some form of gambling has been legalized in New Mexico for quite some time. The first regulated gambling was betting on horse racing. This was legalized in 1946 and was the only state in the region where it was legal. However, in the 1980s, Texas also legalized betting on horse racing, and New Mexico saw its betting industry begin to decline.
When the betting industry started to decline, there was a push to expand the gambling industry. In the mid-90s, the expansion took place. The first tribal compacts were signed in 1995, with the state lottery being legalized the following year.
Unfortunately, this put even more pressure on the race tracks, and the tracks lobbied to be able to offer casino games. They were successful in 1998. Finally, 2009 saw bingo legalized.
New Mexico Casino FAQs
Yes, numerous forms of gambling are legal in New Mexico. These include the lottery, numerous casino games, and betting on horse racing.
Yes, New Mexico has well over 20 casinos operating in the state. Of these casinos, most are tribal casinos, with two commercial casinos.
New Mexico casinos and racinos offer a very big selection of games. These include slot machines, poker, roulette, blackjack, craps, video poker, and other electronic table games.
In order to buy lottery tickets or bet on horse racing in New Mexico, the player needs to be 18. There is no minimum age for charity gaming events, while players need to be 21 to enter one of the state’s casinos.
The New Mexico state lottery offers scratch cards and numerous lotto tickets. These include interstate lotteries like PowerBall and Mega Millions.
Yes, you can as casinos are exempt from the state’s smoking bans.
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