The law was modified in 2013 and, undoubtedly, will be changed again to match the constantly developing gambling industry once the Gambling Licensing and Advertising Act is accepted and to fix the outdated casino gambling laws. This law legalises all new forms of gambling (like online gambling) and updates the regulations of the old gambling games to match the modern gambling industry. The Mexico gambling law that brought the country up to speed with modern gambling was the 2004 Regulations of the Federal Law of Games and Raffles, signed by President Vicente Fox Quesada.

Federal Law of Administrative Procedure.

Here are the main gambling laws in Mexico you should know: Since gambling is legal in all Mexican states, the main gambling regulation applies slight differences in tax rare and legal games, which we will mention further in this article. This means that there are differences when it comes to laws and regulations. Mexico is a federal republic with 31 states.

Today, gambling in Mexico is legal, and in the next section, you can find which laws are in power. Every new government did what they thought was best for the people, and sometimes, the decisions contradicted one another. Even today, this law regulates all casinos, lottery, sports betting, and other gambling games.Īs you can see, the legality of gambling in Mexico depended heavily on the church’s opinion and the country’s rulers. The ban on gambling ended on 31st December 1947, with the Gambling Law released by President Miguel Alemán Valdés. Even though some traditional games remained, and people occasionally placed a wager on a winner, the casino gambling games were considered illegal. President Lazaro Cardenas banned all forms of gambling in 1935. Locals, tourists, and budget travellers were welcome to spin the roulette wheels and play card games for real cash. The Mexican Revolution in 1911 banned gambling games and restricted the gambling industry.ġ920 was when Mexico legalised commercial gambling. The French colonisers created the first casinos in Mexico during Porfirio Diaz’s reign in the 19 th century. During that time, the church was strictly against any form of wagering games, so a large part of the lottery money was donated to socially beneficial purposes like hospitals and other forms of charity. The Royal General Lottery is the first officially legal gambling in Mexico.

Mexico church coin slot machine