New Mexico is in regards to size the 5th largest US State and is a total of 121, total square miles in size and if you wish to gamble at a casino either an online or in a land based casino in any US State and you are from New Mexico then you have to be over the age of 21 to be able to legally do so. While online gambling is not mentioned in the code itself, the New Mexico Gaming Control Board specifies the activity on its list of gambling activities that are prohibited. It interprets the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 as the prevailing federal law that prohibits internet gambling. Online gambling in New Mexico is legal for the sole fact that there are no laws that say otherwise. Residents are free to use online gambling sites as they see fit. That said, caveat emptor: We are not lawyers, and our understanding of the state laws in NM could be too liberal in specific cases. Conclusion on New Mexico Online Casinos. New Mexico is a great state for casino fans. There are a huge number of land-based gambling venues here and an even bigger number of fantastic internet casino sites. Make sure to check out the New Mexico online casino sites that we recommend at the top of this page. Each one is safe, reputable, and top.

Welcome to our dedicated page about New Mexico Gambling sites and legal online gambling in the state. New Mexico is one of the smaller states in the country, but it also boasts a thriving and successful casino gambling industry, buoyed largely by tribal casinos spread throughout the state. As the legal New Mexico gambling industry has not yet expanded to include most forms of USA online gambling, the only state-sanctioned forms of online gambling currently offered in New Mexico are daily fantasy sports and pari-mutuel wagering.

Still, New Mexico residents can still legally participate in nearly all forms of online gambling, but they must do so through websites based in other countries, which are not bound by the same regulations and restrictions as domestic websites. While it is not ideal for all that money to be funneled out of the New Mexico economy, residents don’t have much choice. Online gambling is enormously popular regardless of state regulations. This page will cover all the information you need to know about various types of online gambling, the taxes and laws that apply to online gambling, and the future outlook of online gambling in New Mexico specifically.

Best New Mexico Gambling Sites

Despite a lack of legal in-state online casinos, New Mexico residents can still legally access a wealth of global online gambling websites. There are dozens, if not hundreds of these websites, and all of them claim to offer the best gambling experience, bar none. Of course, it isn’t possible for every single website to be the best, and many websites are either substandard or downright predatory of their players. At USAOnlineGambling, we use a thorough review process to comb through every major gambling site and weed out the ones that aren’t worth your time.

Our reviews prioritize things like customer service, a good quality and variety of betting options, high payout rates, and easy banking—things that all gamblers should expect when they are risking their hard-earned money. The only sites we recommend are those that receive high marks in all these categories. Once these baseline standards have been ascertained, determining the best gambling website becomes more subjective. Every site offers its own unique qualities, so different websites will be best for different players, depending on their gambling priorities.

How We Pick The Best New Mexico Gambling Sites

The USAOnlineGambling review process thoroughly looks at all aspects of a website, from its technological infrastructure to its betting options all the way down to its promotions and bonuses. The most important qualifiers for a gambling website are things like reliability, consumer trust in the company, and good payout rates. Because these qualities are essential to creating an enjoyable gambling experience, they are nonnegotiable when it comes to earning a top notch recommendation.

There are a number of sites that meet these standards, and all of them warrant consideration from gamblers. Each one has its own specialties and caters to a different subset of players. Players who only care about online poker, for example, would want to sign up with a gambling site with the best online poker software, while a consumer with broader gambling interests might prefer a more well-rounded site. We can’t give a concrete recommendation that applies to all players, but we can provide them with the information they need to come to a sound decision on their own.

• Every site we recommend has to offer easy and accessible banking.
• We only recommend sites with a reliable, extensively developed technological infrastructure.
• For whatever types of gambling a website offers, it must have some of the best betting options in the industry.
• Payout rates at our website must be better than rates you would find in a casino.
• All our sites are completely legal and available to all New Mexico residents over 18 years old.

Different Types Of Online Gambling In New Mexico

A rule of thumb about online gambling is that if you can envision a type of gambling being available in a casino, it is likely available online as well. This includes poker, sports betting, online blackjack, slot machines, roulette, craps, and more. Unfortunately, the only state-sanctioned forms of online gambling in New Mexico are pari-mutuel wagering (betting on horse racing) and daily fantasy sports, but there are legal international options for every type of online gambling.

New Mexico Online Casinos

Online casinos are illegal in the state of New Mexico, but those laws don’t apply to USA online casinos that are located offshore. Online casinos offer a wide range of different gaming types, including some that you would assume require a physical element like craps and roulette. Online casino games are run using sophisticated simulation algorithms that accurately reflect the win probabilities of actual casinos. They are convenient and accessible from anywhere via smartphones, and offer fast, easy banking as well. Many online casinos have even begun offering live dealer games in an effort to more closely emulate the brick-and-mortar casino experience.

Benefits of New Mexico Online Casinos:

• Live dealer gambling options to emulate normal casinos
• Convenient and accessible from anywhere
• Better payout rates than you would find in a regular casino
• 24/7 customer support to address all concerns
• No additional costs like hotel stays, meals at restaurants, etc.

New Mexico Online Sportsbooks

Although New Mexico is lacking in professional and major college sports, betting on sports is still very popular throughout the state. Unfortunately, for right now, the only way to legally bet on sports online in New Mexico is through international online sportsbooks. There are a handful of retail sportsbooks at casinos throughout the state, but the New Mexico Legislature has yet to approve online sports betting.

International online sportsbooks offer a world-class betting experience. Players can bet on dozens of leagues and thousands of different sporting events around the world. Online sports bettors also have the choice of live, in-play betting, which is a great way for an intelligent sports fan to capitalize on their knowledge during play. Prop betting is also very popular, offering the option to bet on specific outcomes like the number of points a player will score through the duration of a basketball game. US Online sportsbooks offer more live and prop betting options than physical casinos. They also feature friendlier odds that aren’t weighed down by high operating costs and local biases.

Benefits of New Mexico Sportbooks:

• Extensive live and prop betting options
• Bet from your phone while watching your favorite games
• More leagues, teams and events to bet on
• Odds are not skewed by local biases because the player base is global
• Take advantage of huge deposit match bonuses

New Mexico Online Poker Sites

Although poker is wildly popular in the United States, New Mexico has not yet greenlit legal online poker. Instead, players have to play with companies based in other countries, like 5Dimes and XBet. Each site offers its own specially designed software for players to download. This software grants access to real money poker games both against other real people and against computer-controlled dealers for certain variants of poker. The software also monitors for cheating, so you can always be sure that you are getting a fair game. Online poker offers easy banking with cryptocurrency, unmatched convenience, and the best combination of intuitiveness and simplicity for both new and experienced players.

Benefits of New Mexico Online Poker:

• Simultaneously simple and intuitive
• Play on the go using your smartphone or another mobile device
• Many poker variants available
• No need to wait for a vacancy at a casino poker room to start playing
• Cash out instantly with cryptocurrency

New Mexico Online DFS

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) are the only form of state-licensed online sports betting in New Mexico. Daily fantasy sports games are much like traditional fantasy sports, except lineups are reset after every game. This gives players added flexibility and reduces the penalty to a player when their star player is injured or suspended. The two largest DFS operators in the United States are FanDuel and DraftKings, both of which operate in New Mexico. All other major DFS operators also accept players from New Mexico.

Benefits of New Mexico Online DFS:

• Added roster flexibility because of frequent lineup resets
• Salary cap system ensures parity between all players
• Tournament options offer increased rewards
• Real money and free options
• Tons of companies in the market means more competition, which benefits players

New Mexico Online Bingo

Bingo is a thriving form of gambling, but online bingo has not earned the same level of popularity as other forms of online gambling like poker and sports betting. There are no state-licensed forms of online bingo in New Mexico, so once again, global online casinos are the only available options. Online bingo offers a number of distinct advantages over traditional brick-and-mortar bingo, including faster gameplay, automatic card filling options, and immediate payouts on winnings. Some of the best websites for online bingo include Bovada and BetOnline.

Benefits of New Mexico Online Bingo:

• Games are much faster and more streamlined
• No need to wait for dozens or hundreds of people to organize a game
• Choose between different variants like 30- and 80-ball bingo
• Gertrude can’t erroneously call out your bingo when she loses
• Advanced virtual infrastructure makes gameplay smooth and reliable.

New Mexico Online Lottery

There are only six states in the U.S. that offer online lottery ticket sales, and New Mexico is not one of them. There are six draw games and a number of scratchers available to New Mexico residents, but none of them are sold online. Additionally, there are no reputable international online lotteries. Any website that claims to sell lottery tickets to New Mexico residents is likely just attempting to separate them from important personal or financial information. If you want a lottery ticket, you will need to purchase it from a licensed retailer like a gas station or a supermarket.

New Mexico Online Horse Racing

Betting on horse racing (also referred to as (pari-mutuel wagering) is fully legal in New Mexico, both at the track and online. There are seven horse racing tracks located throughout New Mexico:

1. The Downs Racetrack and Casino
2. Zia Park Racetrack and Caisno
3. Expo New Mexico
4. Ruidoso Downs Race Track
5. Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino
6. Sunray Park and Casino

All these locations offer on-site pari-mutuel wagering for all of their races. Additionally, New Mexico residents can easily bet on their favorite races online using multi-state pari-mutuel betting platforms like TVG and Twin Spires. Big international sportsbooks also offer betting odds on major national and international races. While the lack of local options isn’t ideal, it is nice to enjoy player-friendly betting odds on every race and access to a huge variety of prop bets.

Benefits of New Mexico Online Horse Racing:

• Wide selection of prop betting options
• Bet on both local and international races
• Parlay your race bets with bets on other sports when betting online
• More information available on every racer
• No need to wait in long lines at a betting window

Best New Mexico Online Casinos

New Mexico Online Slots

Online slots are only available in New Mexico through legal international online casinos. No in-state casino has yet been authorized to offer mobile gaming of any kind. Still, online slots remain hugely popular both inside New Mexico and outside of it. They are simple, easy to pick up, and offer huge potential rewards with none of the stress of more involved types of gambling. Online slots are even simpler, as they allow you to adjust your bet level without changing machines. Additionally, hundreds of different online slots can be hosted on a single page.

Benefits of New Mexico Online Slots:

• Hundreds of different slots available from one website
• Never switch machines to increase or decrease your bet
• Your favorite machine will likely never be replaced
• Better payout rates than casino slot machines
• Any number of people can play concurrently

Mobile Gambling In New Mexico

Players can download apps for the pari-mutuel and DFS companies mentioned above—FanDuel, TVG, etc.—but there are no other state-licensed mobile gambling options in New Mexico. Thankfully, there don’t have to be, as international gambling websites are completely legal. Major online gambling sites invest heavily in the development of comprehensive mobile gambling websites, so they don’t miss out on the huge mobile gaming demographic. These options are legal, intuitive, and simple. Mobile sites are compatible with all major smartphone and tablet brands.

Mobile Sports Betting Apps

There are no downloadable sports betting apps in New Mexico outside of the aforementioned pari-mutuel and DFS companies. Global online sportsbooks do offer mobile betting, but only through their specially designed mobile sites. They are not allowed to offer downloadable apps on American app stores, unfortunately. But their mobile sites offer access to their entire range of betting features, including live, in-play betting, prop bets, dozens of different leagues and thousands of events, and more. Mobile sports betting is available anywhere with a strong wi-fi or data connection. Major online sportsbooks like MyBookie and Bovada have mobile sites that function nearly identically to a dedicated app.

Mobile Casinos Apps

As with sports betting, companies have invested heavily in ensuring that their mobile players are accounted for. There are no in-state mobile casino apps, but there are optimized mobile sites for international casinos. These mobile sites can access all the same features as a desktop site. One of the best features of international online casinos is there huge deposit match bonuses, which can give you an overall bankroll boost in the thousands of dollars. Mobile players are eligible for these bonuses in addition to desktop players.

Real Money Online Gambling Sites In New Mexico

Gambling online with real money is completely legal in New Mexico, although only a few types of real money gambling are legal with in-state operators. Nearly every online gambling company accepts deposits using traditional payment methods like credit and debit cards. But the easiest way to handle your finances when gambling online is through cryptocurrency. International gambling sites can’t transfer your winnings directly to your bank, so instead they must work through another method. Crypto is their preferred method, and they offer huge promotional bonuses tied to crypto to incentivize players.

Free Online Gambling In New Mexico

There are plenty of free gambling options in New Mexico, but most of them are unappealing mobile games that emulate casino gaming without the risk versus reward element that makes them so enthralling. Some online casinos offer free versions of their real money games. These are a great way to practice and acclimatize yourself to a site’s systems before committing real money. There are also some popular poker multiplayer apps, but these are bogged down by unrealistic behavior from other players. Perhaps the best form of free gambling is daily fantasy, which offers deep strategy and even some big cash rewards for tournament play.

Is Online Gambling Legal In New Mexico?

Yes, online gambling is legal in New Mexico, as it is in every state, although most forms of online gambling are only available through international companies. New Mexico law only authorizes pari-mutuel and DFS betting for online play, and all forms of gambling that aren’t deemed explicitly legal under New Mexico law are considered illegal, per §60-2E-4 of the Gaming Control Act. While this sounds bad for online gambling enthusiasts, it is not actually a death knell.

Ruidoso New Mexico Gambling

International online gambling sites are not subject to the laws and regulations of either the federal government or state governments. And because anti-gambling laws are designed to target gambling companies rather than individual gamblers, players have nothing to fear when using one of these sites. Legal domestic online gambling could happen in the future for New Mexico, but for right now, global operators are the only choice for players who don’t want to make a lengthy drive out to a casino to play their favorite games. Gambling laws have been changing rapidly in recent years, so this is liable to change in short order.

Online Gambling Laws In New Mexico

Pari-mutuel wagering was legalized in New Mexico back in the 1930s, but it remained the only form of legal gambling in the state all the way up until the 1990s. In 1995, then-Governor Gary Johnson authorized a statewide lottery and signed a gaming compact with several Native American tribes allowing them to open full brick-and-mortar casinos. No law was ever passed to legalize sports betting in New Mexico, but casinos began offering sports wagering anyway, and there have been no legal repercussions. The future of gambling right now appears to be in limbo, although the ongoing economic crisis could push the New Mexico Legislature to expand the casino industry in an attempt to increase tax revenues.

Legal Gambling Age In New Mexico

Technically, anyone in New Mexico can legally participate in gambling through charity bingo games, but those are an exception to the rule. “Soft” forms of gambling like pari-mutuel wagering and the lottery are legal to anyone 18 years old or older, while “harder” forms like casino gaming are limited to people who are at least 21 years old. The legal gambling age for international gambling sites is 18 years old, with the only requirement being that the player can provide proof of a valid, government-issued ID.

• Lottery: 18
• Parimutuel: 18
• Casinos: 21
• Bingo: any
• Online Poker: 18
• DFS: 21
• Sports Betting: 21

Where Are New Mexico Gambling Sites Regulated?

The gambling sites that are legal in New Mexico—DFS providers like DraftKings and pari-mutuel wagering sites like TVG—are subject to both federal and New Mexico state law. International online casinos are regulated by their country of operation. While international regulations are generally looser than domestic ones, these global online casinos are still held to strict standards on security, and payout rates to ensure that none are taking advantage of their players. As long as the casino is licensed by its government, it is completely safe to bet with.

Who Can Play At New Mexico Online Gambling Sites?

All the gambling sites available to players in New Mexico are also available to players in other states—both those that border New Mexico and other states across the country. The same regulations that apply to New Mexico players—an 18-year-old age requirement, proof of ID, etc.—apply to players in other states as well. They can access all the same forms of gambling and all the same deposit bonuses as New Mexico players.

Taxes On Gambling Winnings In New Mexico

Gambling tax in New Mexico: 25% (federal) + 6% (state)

New Mexico requires a 6% tax on all gambling winnings. Winnings won’t always be automatically withheld, so it is important to understand your likely gambling tax rates and pay the equivalent value of your estimated gambling taxes. The federal government also requires a 25% tax on all gambling revenues. These taxes must be paid whether you win the money with a New Mexico casino or an international gambling website. Failure to report gambling winnings on your taxes constitutes felony tax evasion.

Gambling Revenue In New Mexico

New Mexico’s tribal casinos are not required to publicly disclose financial information, but the New Mexico Gaming Control Board publishes general reports about overall revenues on both a monthly and yearly basis. In fiscal year 2019, gambling operators in the state collected a total of $250.5 million in revenue and paid $64.8 million in taxes. Payments from non-profit gambling operators go toward the state’s education system, while other gambling taxes are paid into the New Mexico General Fund. Online gambling could likely increase revenues by 20-30%.

Future Of New Mexico Online Gambling

New Mexico has shown little urgency in legalizing online gambling, but with the rapid progression of technology and the increasing consumer preference for online alternatives to traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, legal online gambling seems inevitable. The population of New Mexico is spread out widely, and legal online gambling could entice more people to play. This would result in higher revenues for casinos and higher tax revenues for the state government. The COVID-19 crisis could also help lead to expanded gambling in New Mexico as lawmakers look for ways to recover a likely budget shortfall.

• Casino Gambling: Legal
• Tribal Gaming: Legal
• Poker: Legal
• Horse Racing Betting: Legal
• Dog Racing Betting: Not Legal
• Lottery: Legal
• Daily Fantasy Sports: Not Specified
• Charitable Gaming: Legal
• Social Gambling: Not Specified
• Online Gambling: Not Specified

Like many states, New Mexico was slow to adapt to most forms of gaming.

Prior to 1990, their gambling laws only allowed for horse racing. But this changed in 1995, when then-Governor Gary Johnson both signed a tribal gaming pact and approved a statewide lottery.

Now, the Land of Enchantment offers several forms of gaming, including horse racing, lottery, poker, and charitable gambling.The state has also explored online gambling options, which has caused strain with tribes.

We’ll cover this later, but let’s first discuss numbers behind New Mexico’s gambling industry, legal notes, online gambling’s status, and where you can find their casinos and racinos.

Ever since Gov. Johnson signed a compact with the state’s tribes, New Mexico and Native Americans have worked closely together in the casino gaming industry.

Both sides have since amended the agreement in 2000 and 2007, whereby the 14 tribes report Net Win. The latter is the amount wagered on casino games, less the amount paid back in winnings, less state and tribal regulatory fees.

As for the “less state” aspect, tribal casinos and the state share 26% of gambling revenue, less the amount paid in winnings.

This arrangement has sometimes been rocky, with then-Attorney General Patricia A. Madrid suing tribes for not sharing revenue. But in contrast to a state like Minnesota, which doesn’t tax tribal casinos, New Mexico at least gets something from their casinos.

Their other big source of gambling revenue is the New Mexico Lottery. Offering both state and multi-state options, their lottery games generate over $140 million per year, with more than $40 million of this going to the state’s General Fund.

This amount doesn’t rival most states, but it’s significant for New Mexico since they only have 2.09 million residents. The $100 million coming in from tribal casinos and the lottery helps the state provide higher education, build hospitals, and fund important programs.

As you can see above, New Mexico’s minimum age requirement for tribal casinos is 21.

The Pojoaque tribe tried forcing their way out of their state agreement in 2014, requesting that the casino age requirement be lowered to 18, alcohol be served on gaming floors, and the revenue-sharing model be dropped.

Lowering the minimum casino age to 18 isn’t unheard of because several other states allow this. But a federal judge from Albuquerque ruled against all of the requests from the tribe’s lawsuit.

Another event that almost rocked the status quo is when the Navajo Nation threatened to opt out of revenue sharing if the state legalizes online gaming. Given that New Mexico has yet to regulate internet gaming, the Navajo Nation hasn’t pressed further on their request.

New Mexico has the broadest definition of illegal gambling that we’ve ever seen: “making a bet.”

Statue 30-19.2 goes on to state that even being in a place with the intent to make a wager constitutes as illegal betting. The first offense for violating these laws is a petty misdemeanor, while the second offense is a felony.

At first glance, it seems that New Mexico has some of America’s toughest gambling laws. But they include the following exceptions in statue 30.19.1, which allow for legal gambling:

• Statue 30.19.1 (3): a lottery as defined in this section.
• Statue 30.19.1 (4): betting otherwise permitted by law.

New Mexico’s criminal code is full of laws that center on illegal gambling operators.

Section 30-19-3 lays out reasonable restrictions against those who facilitate bets or conduct an illegal lottery.

Statue 30-19-4 deals with people who allow illegal gambling and gambling devices on their premises. But as long as they aren’t directly involved in the action, the property owner is only guilty of a petty misdemeanor.

One of the strangest things we see in New Mexico’s laws is statue 30-19-5, which dedicates several paragraphs to those who illegally deal gambling devices.

Dealing gambling devices illegally is defined as “any device which he knows is designed exclusively for gambling purposes or anything which he knows is designed exclusively as a subassembly or essential part of such device. This includes, without limitation, gambling devices, numbers jars, punchboards and roulette wheels.”

An exception is made for those who deal “antique gambling devices,” or those made before 1970.

New Mexico’s rigid gaming laws are meant to protect their lottery and tribal gaming industries, which bring lots of money into state coffers. Of course, given the large number of available casino, you have plenty of options.

We count 21 casinos and 5 racinos in New Mexico at the time of this writing. This is a huge amount considering the state’s population of 2.09 million residents.

Most of the casinos are concentrated in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area, where the majority of the population lives. Other casinos are strategically located on the borders, including the Sunland and Zia Park racinos bordering Texas.

Frankly, we’re surprised that there aren’t more New Mexico casinos near Texas, given the latter’s huge population and lack of casino gaming.

14 tribes operate at least one casino in the state, collectively earning hundreds of millions of dollars. The Sandia Pueblo tribe makes the most annually with their Sandia Casino, earning over $164 million in revenue in 2016.

New Mexico isn’t the most-liberal state when it comes to charity gambling.

Their Bingo and Raffle Act [60-2F-1 NMSA 1978] makes bingo, raffles, pull-tabs, and door-prize drawings legal when run by recognized charities.

No casino-style games are permitted, which is standard for most states. But where New Mexico differs from the majority is that they also ban skill-based charity games like poker and bridge.

If a non-profit is offering prizes worth more than $99, they must obtain special and expensive licensing from the state.

Pari-mutuel wagering has been legal in New Mexico since the 1930s, and they officially began offering horse racing when La Mesa Park opened in 1946.

The Land of Enchantment had a lucrative pari-mutuel industry up until the late 1980s, when Texas legalized horseracing and hurt them. The state’s pari-mutuel industry stabilized, though, when slot machines were approved for racetracks in the 1990s.

New Mexico was late to legalize a lottery, but they finally did so in 1996. It’s a good thing that the state got onboard because the New Mexico Lottery has provided a boost to the government’s General Fund.

Minus payouts and other expenditures, the state lottery contributes over $40 million annually to the General Fund.

Several tribal casinos around the state offer poker rooms. One example is the Buffalo Thunder Casino, which features plenty of cash tables, tournaments, and a bad beat jackpot.

The New Mexico criminal code fails to address private games and social gambling. Furthermore, the State Attorney General’s office has never issued a clear statement on the matter.

We’re not lawyers, but failing to distinguish private gambling from criminalized gaming usually means that it’s frowned upon. At best, social gambling is a grey area in New Mexico as long as the host isn’t profiting in any way.

But we have confidence in private gaming when considering that New Mexico has never arrested anybody for the activity.

Online Gambling Options in New Mexico

Like social gambling, New Mexico also fails to specifically address online gaming. But this doesn’t necessary means that the activity is legal.

Statue 30-19.1 contains the following excerpt, which could possibly be used to pursue online gaming:

Us Online Gambling

“’Gambling device’” means any contrivance, other than an antique gambling device, that is not licensed for use pursuant to the Gaming Control Act, and that, for a consideration, affords the player an opportunity to obtain anything of value, the award of which is determined by chance, even though accompanied by some skill, whether or not the prize is automatically paid by the device.”

A page on the state’s Gaming Control Board’s website also discusses internet gaming. While this doesn’t claim that New Mexico will prosecute online gamers, it’s not a ringing endorsement either:

“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.”

One point worth making about the Gaming Control Board passage is that online gaming isn’t prohibited by federal law or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Instead, the UIGEA makes it illegal for American financial institutions to process transactions related to internet gaming.

In any case, New Mexico doesn’t come out and say that Internet gaming is illegal in their state. But given statue 30-19.1 and the Gaming Control Board’s statement, we’d err on the side of caution.

The good news is that the state has never prosecuted anybody for gambling online, nor have they pursued any operators. That said, New Mexico natives can likely play at offshore online casinos and poker sites without fear.

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New Mexico Considering Daily Fantasy Sports

In late 2016, state House Majority Leader Nate Gentry introduced legislation that seeks to legalize daily fantasy sports (DFS).

Gentry told the Albuquerque Journal that he’s confident in his bill because the federal government states that DFS is not gambling. Furthermore, fantasy sports are omitted from the UIGEA.

Gaming Control Board memberDonovan Lieurance has a different interpretation, claiming that DFS isn’t authorized under the state’s Gaming Control Act. But this isn’t entirely true, given that the state has yet to explore the matter and offer a legality ruling.

New Mexico and tribal gaming interests have had tensions dating back to 1990, when then-Governor Bruce King had a task force discuss gaming pacts with various tribes. The task force negotiated a compact for Class I and Class II gaming (bingo & pull-tabs), which the tribes rejected.

In 1994, Gary Johnson defeated King in the election and assumed governorship the following year. Johnson’s office successfully negotiated a deal with the tribes in 1995, paving the way for the Cities of Gold Casino to open in Pojoaque.

The aftermath has seen the state and tribes squabble over their revenue-sharing model. The deal is that tribal casinos will share revenue, provided that competition is kept to a minimum.

This arrangement has been tested a few times, beginning with New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid suing the tribes for failing to pay the agreed-upon revenue share. The tribes settled and worked out a new deal with the state.

In 2013, the Navajo Nation took exception with New Mexico’s interest in online gaming. They proposed a compact that would see them stop sharing slots revenue with the state if internet gaming is legalized.

Gov. Susana Martinez worked with Navajo Nation on the deal, but it was never looked at by the state House or Senate. We assume that the issue will stay buried as long as New Mexico doesn’t become serious about regulating online gaming.

In 2014, the Pojoaque Pueblo tribe asked the federal government to remove them from New Mexico’s oversight. Additionally, the tribe no longer wanted to pay its share of slots revenue, which worked out to $5 million annually back then.

Other stipulations include being able to allow 18-year-old gamblers; accept social security and payroll checks; and serve alcohol in the gambling area.

“The state believes they created Indian gaming,” said Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. George Rivera at the time. “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.”

Pueblo’s bid to reduce restrictions against them and avoid paying shared revenue ended when an Albuquerque-based federal judge ruled against the tribe.

In 2015, Gov. Martinez chose not to allow the Fort Sill Apache tribe open a casino.

According to the Bingo and Raffle Act, bingo, raffles, pull-tabs, and door prizes are legal when offered by approved charities.

Not permitted are casino-style games like blackjack, craps, or roulette; and skill-based games like poker, bridge, and bowling. Also note that the state requires extra licensing if you give out prizes worth over $99.

Again, we’re not lawyers. But we assume that you can safely play a social poker game as long as the prizes aren’t excessive, and the host isn’t profiting in any way (i.e. rake, selling food & alcohol).

The New Mexico criminal code doesn’t directly address home poker games and other means of private gambling.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the state can’t use vague language in its criminal code to prosecute somebody – especially high stakes players. But given that nobody has been arrested just for holding a home poker game, you’re likely safe.

This is another area that New Mexico fails to directly cover in their criminal code.

Section 30-19.1 essentially states that any device that allows you to make real money bets constitutes an illegal gambling device.

The Gaming Control Board also states on their website that Internet gaming is illegal by federal definition (it’s not technically), and they support this notion.

Of course, it’s important to note that New Mexico has never taken any serious steps to arrest anybody for internet gaming, nor have they pursued offshore operators.

Online Casino New Mexico

New Mexico Gambling Laws

New Mexico’s gambling industry revolves around keeping the agreement between the state and tribes going.

Considering that the state receives 26% of tribal gaming revenue, this is a sweet deal for them. The 14 tribes have benefited from the relationship too, earning hundreds of millions collectively every year.

Given that tribal gaming rules New Mexico gambling, they make few concessions for other forms of gaming.

Charity gambling is limited, social betting isn’t given an exception under illegal wagers, and online gaming has been largely untouched.

Horseracing is allowed because it’s been around since the 1940s, while the New Mexico Lottery is the state’s only other lucrative form of gambling.

Until a serious rift happens between Native American casinos and the state government, we don’t see the current model changing anytime soon. This means that DFS and online gaming probably won’t be legalized and regulated.

New York Online Gambling

But as long as New Mexico doesn’t outright ban either activity, then its residents can continue playing DFS and online casino games into the foreseeable future through offshore sites.