New Mexico counts itself among the wide majority of US states that have legalized most forms of gambling. The state did this recently, which is why you can now enjoy poker, lottery, horse racing, or charitable gambling without thinking about its legality.
However, when it comes to online casinos, the situation is, unfortunately, not the same. Like many other states with land-based casinos, all of which belong to specific tribes from the state, there has been a lot of pushback by the tribes that enjoy this monopoly.
We’ll explain everything mentioned above in this piece, so keep on reading to learn all about the legality of online casinos in the state of New Mexico.
Top 10 New Mexico Online Casinos
Here is a list of our top 10 recommended online casino sites to play at for real money from New Mexico.
1
Bovada
Rating 4.5
Mobile Friendly
Accepts Bitcoin
Live dealers available
Deposit Methods: ACH Direct Deposit, American Express, Bank transfer, Bitcoin, echeck, MasterCard, Matchpay, Visa, Visa Gift Card
The deposit plus bonus amount is subject to a 25x playthrough requirement before the deposit, bonus amount and any winnings can be withdrawn.
Forfeiting this bonus will result in this bonus and any subsequent winnings associated with this bonus to be removed.
Bonus funds cannot be used for play on Live Dealer games.
Craps and Live Dealer play do not count toward meeting rollover requirements for withdrawal.
All games, except Craps and Live Dealer, contribute towards playthrough requirements; however, certain games may have a greater contribution than others.
Deposit Methods: ACH Direct Deposit, American Express, Bank transfer, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Courier Check, echeck, Ethereum, Gift Cards, Litecoin, MasterCard, Matchpay, Tether, User2User Transfer, Visa
Withdrawal Methods: American Express, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Check, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, User2User Transfer
The deposit plus Casino bonus amount is subject to a 25X Casino playthrough requirement before the deposit, bonus amount and any winnings can be withdrawn.
• This offer is valid only for first-time depositors at Vegas Casino. • The offer is limited to one player per household and/or computer. • The coupon can only be redeemed once by the player to a maximum of $500 in bonus. • Deposit a minimum $25 to qualify for this bonus. • The deposit and bonus must be wagered fifty (50) times before a cashout is permitted. • Only the following games count towards the wagering requirements of the bonus: some Real Video Slots, some Slots, Keno and Scratch Cards.
Deposit Methods: American Express, Bank transfer, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, BitcoinSV, Courier Check, Ethereum, Litecoin, MasterCard, Matchpay, Player Transfer, Tether, Visa
Bonuses issued at the discretion of the Company are subject to one per individual, household, civic address, e-mail address, deposit instrument, bank account, telephone number, computer/device, and/or IP address.
If you cancel or forfeit the bonus at anytime prior to wagering and rollover requirements being met, all funds generated by the bonus (including the bonus) will be void and be ineligible for reinstatement. Details on the applicable restrictions can be found in the specific terms of the promotion.
Unless otherwise stated, the minimum amount required to activate a deposit bonus is $20.
Bonuses are subject to wagering and rollover requirements and must be met by their specified timeline prior to any approved requested withdrawals.
Players can claim the WILD250 bonus code on their first deposit only.
Players can claim the WILD100 bonus code on their 2nd to 5th deposits only.
A minimum deposit of $20 is required to qualify for WILD250 and WILD100 bonus codes.
The maximum bonus amount per deposit is $1,000.
The correct bonus code needs to be entered to claim the correct match bonus with your deposit. ie WILD250 on your first deposit and WILD100 on subsequent deposits.
This bonus is only valid on select Slots, Table games and Video Poker games.
This bonus is not valid in the Live Dealer Casino.
The deposit plus bonus amount is subject to a 40X rollover requirement before any winnings can be withdrawn.
Not all games contribute towards bonus rollover; please check our bonus contribution page for further details.
If the rollover requirements are not met within 30 days of claiming the bonus, any remaining bonus funds winnings will be forfeited.
Only one bonus can be active at any one time.
The maximum release amount is 5X the bonus amount up to $5,000.
Rollover requirements must be met before any additional bonuses can be granted.
This promotion is non-transferable.
Standard bonus terms and conditions apply.
Wild Casino reserves the right to alter or amend the Terms and Conditions of this promotion at any time without notice.
All free bonuses require a minimum of 60x wagering before any withdrawal can be made. Wagers placed on Blackjack, Video Poker, Craps, American Roulette, Baccarat, and other table or non-slot games will not count toward this wagering requirement unless explicitly stated otherwise. Playing any excluded game before meeting these wagering requirements may result in the casino voiding all winnings and potentially closing the account. Withdrawal requests submitted before completing the wagering requirements will be denied until these requirements are fully met.
The first form of legal gambling in New Mexico came about in 1947 when the lawmakers legalized betting on horse races. In time came new laws, and in 1990, the Gaming Regulatory Act was introduced and tribal casinos were legalized.
Beside certain tribal casinos being opened on several locations, the state finally allowed a single commercial casino to be established in Albuquerque in 2011. Sports betting was shortly legalized as well, but the Supreme Court overturned the law in 2018. However, tribal casinos were all along immune to these laws, and they were always allowed to offer sports betting.
Unfortunately, none of these laws and changes account for online gambling in New Mexico. But what does this mean?
In essence, the law doesn’t cover online gambling, which means that it’s neither legal nor illegal. We won’t bore you with the sections of the state law that mention online forms of gambling; we’ll only explain what they mean. The state has the right to pursue a person or organization if they offer online gambling activities. The law doesn’t explicitly state that the practice is illegal, but it doesn’t promote it either.
The good thing about all of this is that New Mexico doesn’t prosecute people who play online gambling games. The state doesn’t even go against the operators. What’s more, they turn a blind eye to that practice. By the time this article was written, there were no cases of the state prosecuting a person or an offshore organization for offering or participating in online gambling activities.
Can I Play in Offshore Casinos?
Since the law is murky, no one offers online casino games in the state, and if you want to play these games from the state of New Mexico, you will have to join an offshore online casino that caters to New Mexicans. If you decide to do this, you can feel safe knowing that neither the state nor the federal state will try to charge you a fine or put you in jail for playing online casino games.
As no one offers nor plans to offer online gambling games in New Mexico, this will remain the only way for you to play online casino games with real money. If you don’t want to use real money, you can always use the services of social casinos, which are permitted and available in the state.
Future of Online Gambling in New Mexico
We would love to tell you that there are plans for the state of New Mexico to legalize online casinos, like many other states are probably going to do very soon. Unfortunately, the reality is that this is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
New Mexico lawmakers and the state government have no plans for making online gambling legal even though there is a large number of players in the state. Judging by the fact that the state decided to go backward with sports betting by making it illegal once again for everyone except tribal casinos, it’s unlikely that they will make online casino games legal. That’s because sports betting has been easier to sell to local lawmakers in other states, while online casino games are much harder to get past their scrutiny.
All in all, for now, and in the days to come, you can only enjoy playing online casino games in offshore casinos. However, you can also opt for land-based casinos, which is precisely what we’ll talk about next.
Land-Based Casino Options in New Mexico
When it comes to land-based casinos, tribal casinos dominate the gambling landscape. They also play a large part in the state’s economy, as New Mexico has grown into the state with one of the highest per capita gambling markets in the United States. On top of that, pari-mutuel horse tracks are also legal as of late, and there are already plenty of so-called racinos across the state.
Unlike other states, tribal casinos are mostly located close to major population centers and not in rural areas, making finding and reaching them much easier.
As it’s not in the tribal casinos’ interest, there aren’t many other land-based casino options in the state. However, this doesn’t mean much for regular players. You’ll get plenty of options regardless, because there are more than 20 tribal casinos in the state.
840 slots, 35 table games, poker room, bingo, sportsbook
Isleta Casino & Resort
11000 Broadway SE Albuquerque, NM 87105-7469
1,700 slots, 25 table games, poker room, bingo, sportsbook
Northern Edge Navajo Casino
On N36, 1 mile west of NM-371 Farmington, NM 87401
750 slots, 10 table games, poker tables, blackjack tournaments
Ohkay Casino Resort
Highway 68 San Juan Pueblo, NM 87566
700 slots, 5 table games, bingo
Palace West Casino
State Road 45 Isleta, NM 87105
90 slots
Route 66 Casino Hotel
14500 Central Avenue Southwest Albuquerque, NM 87121
1,700 slots, 40 table games, poker room, bingo
Sandia Resort & Casino
30 Rainbow Road Northeast Albuquerque, NM 8711
1,750 slots, 52 table games poker room, bingo, live keno
Santa Ana Star Casino
54 Jemez Canyon Dam Road Santa Ana Pueblo, NM 87004
1,458 slots, 42 table games, poker room
Santa Claran Casino
460 No. Riverside Drive Espanola, NM 87532
750 slots, 10 table games
Sky City Casino Hotel
Interstate 40, Exit 102 Acoma Pueblo, NM 87034
669 slots, 10 table games, bingo
Taos Mountain Casino
700 Veterans Highway Taos, NM 87571-0777
200 slots, 4 table games
Tesuque Casino
7 Tesuque Hill Rd Santa Fe, NM 87506
750 slots, table games
Wild Horse Casino & Hotel
13603 US Highway 64 Dulce, NM 87529
190 slots, live blackjack
FAQ
No, the law somewhat prohibits it, but mostly ignores it. Everyone can play in offshore casinos without the fear of being punished because the state has never charged anyone for this.
The minimum gambling age is 18 for horse racing and the lottery. It’s 21 for casino gambling.
No, the state is unlikely to make it legal any time soon, as there are no plans concerning this issue.
Online sports betting was once again made illegal in 2018. Only tribal casinos can offer sportsbooks.
The state doesn’t specifically prohibit it, but it doesn’t allow it either. You can only play online poker in offshore casinos if you’re based in New Mexico.
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Administrator/moderator and fixer of things that break on blackjackinfo.com. Tum has contributed to the LCB network for over 10 years working with numerous casino, poker and sports affiliate websites.
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