New Mexico Gambling Sites

New Mexico only had few gambling options until 1995, when Governor Gary
Johnson and Native American tribes agreed to a casino compact.

Now, you can find plenty of brick and mortar casinos spread throughout the
state. The Land of Enchantment also features horseracing, a lottery and
charitable gambling.

But what about online gaming and New Mexico gambling sites?

This is one of the biggest topics that we’ll cover throughout this discussion
on New Mexico’s gambling laws.

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Online Gambling and New Mexico Law

New Mexico is another state that doesn’t offer a definitive stance on online
gaming. Instead, you must read through their other laws to get context on the
matter.

Given that New Mexico hasn’t officially made Internet gambling illegal, many
offshore sites serve this state. This means you won’t have to look far to find
online casinos, poker rooms and sportsbooks here.

Just because offshore gaming sites serve New Mexico doesn’t necessarily make
it legal. That’s why we’re going to cover some important topics regarding the
legality of iGaming in this state.

Is Online Gambling Legal in New Mexico?

Nothing in New Mexico’s criminal code mentions “computer,” “Internet” or
“online.” States that ban Internet gambling add one or more of these terms when
declaring the activity illegal.

The problem, though, is that the state constitution does have some broad
definitions that could deem online gaming illegal.

Here’s how code 30-19.2 defines gambling:

Gambling consists of: A. making a bet; B. entering or remaining in a gambling
place with intent to make a bet, to participate in a lottery or to play a
gambling device.

This explanation encompasses any type of bet that’s not approved by the
state. The use of “gambling device” could be applied to computers and
smartphones.

Anybody arrested for illegal gambling faces petty misdemeanor charges.

Another problem is that the New Mexico Gaming Control Board (GCB) claims that
Internet gambling is illegal. Here’s a statement via their
website:

“Internet gambling is expressly prohibited by Federal law. This falls under
31 U.S.C.A. §5361, Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The State of New
Mexico, and the New Mexico Gaming Control Board do not regulate, license,
control or in ANY way sanction, endorse or approve any Internet or on-line
gambling, betting activity, wagering or any aspect thereof. Any statement,
reference or opinion to the contrary is wrong. Such activity is strictly
prohibited and not authorized, approved or sanctioned in any manner by New
Mexico regulatory authorities.”

The

Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) doesn’t actually outlaw
online gambling. Instead, the UIGEA makes it illegal for U.S. banks to process
Internet gambling transactions.

This law was signed into effect in 2006 in hopes of stopping offshore gaming
sites, but many of these companies have found ways around this banking law.

In summary, neither New Mexico nor the federal government have an anti-online
gaming law in place. They also don’t approve of the activity either, and it’s
illegal to operate a gaming site on New Mexico soil.

Will New Mexico Legalize Online Gambling?

Not in the foreseeable future.

The Land of Enchantment hasn’t taken any serious steps towards legalizing
iGaming beyond a daily fantasy sports bill.

This means that New Mexico’s Internet gambling market will probably continue
operating in a grey area for years.

One of the biggest problems is that the government is more worried about
preventing rifts with Native-American tribes than looking at Internet gambling.

As we’ll later cover, the state and tribes share casino revenue. This has
caused contention between the two sides, and has taken attention away from
potential iGaming.

Will I be Arrested for Gambling Online in New Mexico?

Likely no.

We can’t find one instance of New Mexico arresting anybody for online
gambling in their state. We do though, stop short of staying that there’s
absolutely no chance of somebody being arrested.

As covered before, New Mexico has vague criminal laws against gaming that
could apply to anything. If the state really wanted to, they could pursue cases
against online gamblers based on section 30-19.2.

But again, the odds of this happening are very slim.

New Mexico, as well as other states, have enough issues without having to
worry about people playing at offshore gaming sites. That makes it very unlikely
that they’d ever arrest you for gambling at an online casino.

How can Offshore Gaming Sites Operate in New Mexico?

Offshore gaming companies aren’t licensed or permitted to operate in New
Mexico. Yet, they still number in the hundreds in the Land of Enchantment.

What affords them this opportunity?

First off, New Mexico doesn’t have any criminal statues directly aimed at
Internet gambling sites. Only a few states cover this in their constitution, and
even then some offshore sites ignore their laws.

Another problem is that it’s difficult to go after an offshore gaming company
because they’re located in Antigua & Barbuda, Costa Rica, Curacao, the Kahnawake
Gaming Commission (Montreal, Quebec) or Panama.

Very few states have tried prosecuting an offshore casino or poker site when
the owner doesn’t live on American soil. The main exception involved the U.S.
Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York
indicting
the largest online poker sites (a.k.a. Black Friday). Even in this case, it
took a federal attorney in one of the largest states to pursue these poker
sites.

New Mexico has 2.085 million residents, and they’re not overly concerned with
online gaming. That said, don’t expect them to incite Black Friday 2.0 any time
soon.

How do I Pick the Best Online Casinos?

The best way to find a good gaming site is by reading reviews. After all,
these cover a number of topics pertaining to the quality of an offshore site.

Here are key points you should keep in mind when reading reviews and/or
visiting the sites directly:

• Reputability

Some offshore companies have a sketchy history that
includes bad customer service and/or slow processing of cashouts. Obviously
you want to avoid these sites, and choose ones that have been operating for
a while.

• Bonus Terms and Conditions

If you love picking up free cash from your
play, then you need to play where bonus wagering requirements are light.

• Customer Support Hours

Aim for sites with 24/7 customer support. After
all, who wants to wait several hours for a department that’s only open 12 or
16 hours?

• Volume of Games

The more variety your gaming site offers, the more
likely you are to be entertained long term.

• Banking Options

Some offshore sites are limited in terms of banking
options. This is why one of the first things you should do is check out what
banking methods a site offers.

Also On This Page

More Gambling Laws in New Mexico

• Casino Games: Legal
• Sports Betting: Illegal
• Poker: Legal
• Racing Betting: Legal
• Lottery: Legal
• Bingo: Legal
• Charitable Gaming: Legal
• Social Gambling: Not Specified

Casinos: Legal

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Shortly after New Mexico signed a compact with their tribes, casinos began
popping up around the state. Now, the Land of Enchantment features 21 tribal
casinos.

New Mexico and the tribes have an agreement that they’ll share casino
revenue.

As per a 2007 amendment, the tribes give 26% of their casino revenue to the
state. In exchange, New Mexico promises not to allow commercial casinos and
create more competition.

The two sides haven’t always seen eye to eye. In fact, former Attorney
General Patricia A. Madrid sued the tribes in 2000 for not sharing revenue. This
led to an amendment in the state-tribal compact.

In 2014, the Pojoaque Pueblo Tribe wanted the state to drop the
revenue-sharing model, allow alcohol on the gaming floors and lower the casino
gambling age to 18.

“The state believes they created Indian gaming,” said Pojoaque Gov. George
Rivera. “The state becomes a partner if there could be a working relationship.
When there’s not a working relationship, Indian gaming doesn’t go away. The
state just becomes less and less involved.”

Given that none of these things favored New Mexico, the state fought to
prevent the Pojoaque from breaking their agreement. A federal judge sided with
New Mexico, keeping the agreement intact with the tribe.

Charitable Gambling: Legal

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The Land of Enchantment allows approved charities to offer bingo, door-prize
drawings, raffles and pull-tabs. Casino nights, poker and any other skill-based
card games are banned for charity purposes.

Charities must obtain special licensing if they want to offer payouts worth
$100 or more.

Lottery: Legal

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New Mexico legalized their lottery in 1996, making them one of the latest
states to do so.

The New Mexico Lottery offers Hot Lotto, Lucky Numbers, Mega Millions,
Monopoly Millionaires’ Club, Pick 3, Powerball, Quicksters, Roadrunner Cash and
scratch cards.

Poker: Legal

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New Mexico features 35 poker tables spread across a few tribal casinos.

While you can find most of the important poker variations like No-limit
hold’em, Omaha, Pot-limit Omaha and 7-card stud, the lack of tables makes
traveling a necessity.

Racing: Legal

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La Mesa Park became the first racetrack to open in New Mexico in 1946. Today,
several racetracks operate across the state.

Social Gambling: Not Specified

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New Mexico’s constitution doesn’t exempt social gaming from illegal gambling.

Given that New Mexico considers any non-licensed gaming activity to be
illegal, this doesn’t look good for home poker games.

But we can’t find any arrest records for social gambling functions in New
Mexico. This means that as long as the host isn’t profiting through rake, a
house edge or by selling food/drinks, then you’re probably in the clear.

Gambling Venues in New Mexico

You’ll find several casinos around the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas, but
New Mexico also has casinos mixed throughout other parts of the state, too.

The state’s largest casino is the Sandia Resort and Casino, which has 2,300
slot machines. Santa Ana Star Casino is the second biggest, with 1,400 slot
machines and 25 table games.

You can see details on these New Mexico casinos and a few others below.

History of Gambling in New Mexico

New Mexico’s gambling history begins with pari-mutuel betting in the 1940s.

They didn’t take another step towards legalized gambling until 1995, when
they finally worked out a casino compact with the tribes after years of
negotiations.

From here, their gaming industry took off quickly, and they now boast 21
tribal casinos. Unfortunately, this is as far as the Land of Enchantment has
taken things.

They haven’t gotten around to serious discussions on Internet gambling. In
fact, the New Mexico Gaming Control Board is against online gaming.

Hopefully attitudes will change in the state, and we can add iGaming
legalization to this list of gambling milestones.

New Mexico Gambling FAQs

Again, New Mexico doesn’t address online gaming in their criminal code.

Given their broad legal language and attitude of their Gaming Control Board,
New Mexico doesn’t look favorably upon online gaming. This creates questions
among residents who are online gamblers.

We’ll answer some of these questions below.

Additional Resources

The New Mexico Gaming Control Board handles many matters involving the
state’s gambling operations.

The other big gaming entity in the state is the New Mexico Lottery. Here’s
some information on both of these gaming organizations.

• New Mexico Gaming Control Board

The GCB handles many aspects of New Mexico gaming, including charitable
operations, pari-mutuel betting and tribal gaming. Their website covers all of
these topics along with information on laws and problem gambling.

• New Mexico Lottery

Run by the government, the New Mexico Lottery oversees the state’s various
lottery games, and they pay the winners.

The Future & Your Views

The following points are standing in the way of New Mexico legalizing and
regulating online gambling:

• No serious discussions or legislation has been presented.
• The state is mainly worried about keeping their revenue sharing going
  with tribal casinos.
• Tribal casinos will opposed any iGaming deal that doesn’t involve them.
• No neighboring states have legalized Internet gambling.

These four factors kill any chance that New Mexico will regulate online
gaming in the near future.

The points surrounding the tribes are the most damning because much of the
state’s non-lottery gambling revolves around casinos.

The easiest path towards legal online gambling in New Mexico involves the
state and tribes coming to an agreement. Before this becomes a reality, there
needs to be stability in the brick-and-mortar casinos compacts.

We haven’t seen any changes in over a decade. But the amendments and
disagreements in 2000 and 2007 show that turbulence is always a possibility.

One promising sign is that the Land of Enchantment is seriously considering
DFS legislation. If this passes, it could open the state up to the idea of
online gambling.

Until then, New Mexico’s iGaming will remain in a grey area, and this means
that your best chance to enjoy online casino, poker and sports betting is by
visiting offshore sites.