Mexico is a federal republic of North America, the 5th largest country in the Americas and the 15th largest independent country globally. Mexico has the fastest growing online game market globally, with a turnover of about 300 million USD per year.
Gambling Laws in Mexico
In 1911, after the Mexican Revolution and decades of expelling French colonialism, Mexico had to close casinos. In 1935, after President Cardenas took office, he formally made certain gambling games illegal. However, Mexico's gambling laws were revised in 1947.
The new laws were not strictly followed, leading to recreational activities such as sports betting and lottery being widely available in Mexico. It was not until 2004 that the Mexican government admitted that existing laws were ineffective, resulting in the gambling laws being loosened.
A few weeks later, the Mexican government issued a regulation on the number of permits. The popular online casinos in Mexico are now licensed to operate. Some restrictions have been put in place with these organizations. All Mexicans are allowed in the casinos unless they are under 21 years of age or drunk.
Rumor has it that the Mexican authorities plan to order a block of paperless online casinos but has yet to be confirmed.
A new Mexico online gambling law was proposed in 2014 to address many of the uncertainties in the online gambling sector. However, the law was postponed until 2015; and there have not been many changes to the regulations.
Gambling Events in Mexico
Popular forms of sports betting in Mexico include horse racing, dog racing, and Jai Alai. Cockfighting, in particular, received a great deal of support. Although illegal, cockfighting is not included in the official sports betting list in Mexico. Besides, bullfighting is considered a violent sport, and Mexican authorities have sought to ban the sport, but bullfighting is still thriving.
Traditional forms of betting such as lottery, bingo, slot machines, and poker are also popular in Mexico. However, enacted laws do not allow Mexicans to participate in these betting organizations. Therefore, they are only for tourists.
In recent years, many high-end Mexican casinos have been built on the US border. Tourism locations like Puerto Penasco and Cancun now house major casinos like Lucky Point Casino and Playboy Club.
Payment Methods in Mexico Online Casinos
Online casinos in Mexico now offer a myriad of safe and secure payment methods for gamblers. New payment options are regularly introduced at online casinos. The Mexican Peso is yet to be widely accepted at online gaming platforms. However, this is not a big deal as the gambling market in Latin America continues to grow.
Here are some payment methods that you can easily find at Mexican online casinos. Their common point is safety, confidentiality, and credibility.
Bank transfer
This is the traditional method, and most casinos offer this feature. The disadvantage of bank transfer is that it takes 3-5 days.
VISA and Mastercard
Debit and credit cards are the most popular forms of payment today. Because they are convenient, and the winnings go back to your bank account quickly and easily.
Electronic Wallet
Players are not required to enter any card number when using E-Wallet. Instead, just create a free account and log in whenever you need to deposit money into an online casino. The most popular e-wallets today are Neteller and Skrill. However, PayPal has also been too familiar to Mexican players for many years now.
Prepaid Cards
This deposit method is very popular in Mexico, as prepaid cards offer instant deposits so players can start wagering quickly. There are several prepaid card options available in Mexico, including Paysafecard, AstroPay, etc.
Cryptocurrencies
While this is a relatively new payment method, cryptocurrencies are slowly starting to gain popularity. The plus point of cryptocurrency transactions is that they are entirely anonymous, and there is no third party involved in the authorization of the transaction. Bitcoin (BTC) is the most popular cryptocurrency at Mexican casinos. There are also Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Dogecoin (DGC).
