Officially referred to as the United Mexican States, Mexico is a country located in the southern part of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico.
Online gambling is permitted in this country, but only land-based venues are eligible to offer this type of entertainment service. In addition to this, Mexico allows sports betting and is also widely known for hosting one of the largest lotteries in the region.
While the country has a more or less well-regulated gaming sector, it is widely known as problematic in two significant sectors- financial crimes and money laundering. As a matter of fact, the US States Department recognizes it as a jurisdiction of primary concern.
For that reason, special attention needs to be paid while selecting an online casino that accepts Mexican players. First of all, a player needs to double-check if this country is on the list of restricted, and then proceed with the registration, depositing, and eventually withdrawal.
Regulations in Land-Based Industry
The Betting and Raffles Law of 1947 banned casinos and gaming throughout Mexico. However, some amendments were made to this Law, which made it possible for local punters to place wagers on sports betting starting in 2005. These modifications enabled SEGOB to grant gaming licenses, as determined by the Mexican Supreme Court.
In 2010, this body gave Class III slot machines green light. Before they were permitted, punters could only play on Class II electronic-based bingo slot devices. Interestingly, numbers were drawn electronically, not symbols.
Speaking of one-armed bandits, slot venues and bingo halls are not permitted to offer table games. Sports betting is legal since 2005, but there’s only one large-scale racetrack in the country.
Mexico has quite a solid number of land-based casinos states-wide. Nuevo Leon and Veracruz are at the very top of the list, but Chihuahua and Jalisco have more than enough brick and mortar facilities.
Is it Legal to Gamble Online in Mexico?
Online gaming has been permitted via special license in Mexico since 2000. Worth noting is that only land-based operators have been allowed to offer their services in this part of the world. A number of foreign operators have joined forces with local suppliers to be able to offer their services legally.
As in numerous other countries where regulations and supervision of the industry are not too tight, offshore companies continue to target domestic customers. They allow players from Mexico to register, deposit, play, claim bonuses and withdraw winnings, without being blocked by some local body or institution in charge of the sector.
Moreover, in 2018, the Lottery presented the official launch of a number of new sales channels via electronic platforms. The announcement came from both The Lotería Nacional para la Asistencia Pública (LOTENAL) and La Pronósticos para la Asistencia Pública (Pronósticos), as they intended to enlarge the assortment of products offered via Internet.
Did you know that the Mexican government recognizes 68 national languages, out of which 63 are native languages? Quite an impressive fact.
As the vast majority of residents speak Spanish, domestic players are interested in casinos that have Spanish optimization. Ideally, the customer support team also hosts agents fluent in this language, which makes communication and navigation significantly smoother.
That’s one of the factors players take into account when choosing a suitable online casino for themselves. Aside from taking a look at games assortment, payment options, and policy, consumers should also take time to analyze Terms and Conditions.
Regulatory Institutions and Taxes
SEGOB, that is, Secretaría de Gobernación (Mexican Secretariat for Home Affairs), is the public department concerned with the country's domestic affairs, the presenting of the president's bills to Congress, as well as their publication on the Official Journal of the Federation. This institution is also in charge of certain issues of national security, and the one liable for the organization of the gambling industry. The Gaming Control Board is part of SEGOB.
Regarding the taxes, they are on the higher end. It’s important to add that taxes on gambling vary across the country- each of the states has its own taxation scale. This is, more or less applied to all segments, so each state determines the qualification for licenses and overall regulatory framework. What’s even more, some of the states increased taxes on alcoholic drinks in casinos.
Starting July 2020, interactive operators headquartered in overseas jurisdictions are also liable to pay a 16% digital services tax. As for the local service providers, they are subject to 30% gross win tax across all products.
Player Protection and Responsible Gambling
While it is true that the country is struggling with money laundering and a high rate of crime, it is still putting certain efforts to protect punters interested in gambling online- at least theoretically. Unfortunately, not all of those had a positive outcome, meaning, they were never actually brought to life.
In 2012, SEGOB announced its intention to collaborate with two of the most powerful Mexican gaming associations, as well as with the Association of Mexican Banks. The main idea was to identify, control and supervise sites targeting the local market from offshore. Also, it would block payment transactions with offshore companies.
The ultimate goal is to restrict all services offered by foreign gambling operators to Mexican players and create a database of unlicensed providers targeting the local clientele. However, this initiative was never brought to life.
A year later, after countless reports on corruption, the congressional committee was charged with investigating how certificates had been granted. Comprised of 11 deputies, the committee came up with new law, whose purpose was to regulate the gaming industry in the country, safeguard the rights of players and make the licensing process more transparent.
One of the ideas was to ban mini-casinos which displayed around 30 machines, as well as “umbrella” licenses, which allowed suppliers to host a number of slot parlors and sports betting shops under a single license. Just like the previous initiative, this one never made it through the day.
Further Reading
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