Is online gambling legal in Mexico?

The large permit holders offer casino games online anyway, on their DGJS-authorised pages; that is tolerated in practice through amparo litigation (court injunctions), not authorised by law. Check a site against the DGJS list before you sign up. Gambling is barred to minors; the law does not write the age, and operators set it at 18. Prizes are taxed: whoever pays a prize withholds 1% federal tax (21% on draw prizes in states whose own prize tax is above 6%), and Mexico City adds 6%.

1. 1Reglamento de la Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos (DOF 17-09-2004), consolidated text, ultima reforma DOF 16-11-2023
2. 2DGJS, Lineamientos en materia de juegos, sorteos, y cualquier actividad en la que medien apuestas (gob.mx PDF, 2021 text)

Gambling with crypto: Banned.

You must be 18 to gamble online in Mexico, for online casino, sports betting and lottery alike. Minors are barred, and every gambling advertisement must say that betting is prohibited to minors. The instruments do not write a figure; the age of majority comes from the civil law.

• Prize tax (betting games): 1%. Of the total amount shared among the winning tickets, withheld by whoever pays the prize ↗

The federal prize tax is in LISR arts. 137-139 and depends on the product. Betting games organised in Mexico (sports betting, casino): 1% of the total amount to be distributed among the winning tickets. Lotteries, rifas, sorteos and contests organised in Mexico: 1% of the value of the prize for each whole ticket, or 21% where the state levies a tax on the prize above 6%. Art. 138 sets no exempt threshold. States tax prizes under their own codes. The only one we read is Mexico City, whose prize tax is 6% of the prize value, withheld by the organiser; because it does not exceed 6%, it does not trigger the 21% rate. The payer withholds the federal tax and gives you a receipt. The withholding counts as a definitive payment where you file the annual return that art. 90 requires; otherwise you add the prize to your other income and credit the withholding. Residents must report prizes, loans and donations in the annual return when together they exceed MXN 600,000. Prizes won in games not authorised in Mexico fall outside these articles, and we did not research how they are taxed instead.

39 permit holders (23 with an authorised web page) in Mexico, as of 13 Oct 2026.

Always verify a casino holds a valid Secretaría de Gobernación (SEGOB), specifically the Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos (DGJS) licence before depositing. Check the official register before signing up.

The official register of licensed sitesSecretaría de Gobernación (SEGOB), specifically the Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos (DGJS)'s website

Prominent operators in Mexico

If a site isn't on the regulator's licensee register, ask the regulator before you play: an unlisted site is usually not licensed here (a register can lag behind a new licence). An unlicensed site is outside the regulator's supervision, so you cannot complain to the regulator about it.

• ✓
  Match the domain and permit statement to the DGJS list of authorised web pages

  The DGJS authorises each online page one by one, tied to its domain. Check the site's domain against the DGJS list of authorised web pages (136 rows, June 2026); the DGJS registry is the only legally binding source, and an operator's own permit statement is not proof. The separate list of permit holders names 39 permisionarias. Neither list is a guarantee that a site is operating today, so also read the status.

• ✓
  Check the page's status, not only its name

  Of the 136 pages on the June 2026 list, 86 are 'Operando'. The others are 'baja temporal' (27), 'sin operaciones' (13) or 'en suspension DGJS' (10); www.bet365.mx and www.betano.mx are among the suspended pages. Do not treat a suspended or inactive page as currently authorised.

• ✓
  Pesos only, and no credit

  A permit holder must take bets in national currency and may not lend you money to bet, directly or indirectly. A site that offers you credit to bet is not following the permit rules.

• ✓
  Check that tax is withheld and ask for the receipt

  The payer of a prize withholds the federal tax and must give you a receipt showing the amount paid and the tax withheld. If a site pays you the full gross amount, ask a Mexican tax adviser how to treat it: prizes won in games not authorised in Mexico fall outside the withholding articles and we did not research how they are taxed instead.

• ✓
  Know where to turn if play becomes a problem

  Línea de la Vida (800 911 2000) is a free service of CONASAMA, the national mental-health and addictions commission. We have not confirmed that it handles gambling specifically. The DGJS has a page on compulsive gambling, marked as under construction. There is no mandatory national self-exclusion register; some operators offer self-exclusion on request as their own practice.

• ✓
  Expect an identity check

  A betting operator must identify you from official documents and keep copies once a transaction, or linked transactions, reach 325 times the daily UMA, and must refrain from the operation if you refuse.

The ways you can pay at licensed gambling sites in Mexico, as a licensed operator lists them. No official source ranks them by use.

The payment rules licensed sites must follow are on the operator page.

Official changes that affect players, newest first, each with the document it comes from. A change marked not yet in our report is confirmed in the official text but not yet worked into our research report and the answers on this page.

Our daily watch reads the official publishers we follow for Mexico. A change is listed once it has been checked against the official document, by a person or, where marked, by our automated check. Dates are the official dates, not the day we found the change.

• Annual reporting threshold: MXN 600,000. Residents report prizes, loans and donations in their annual return when, singly or together, they exceed this ↗
• Identity check threshold: 325 UMA. An operator must identify you once a transaction, or linked transactions, reach 325 times the daily UMA (about MXN 38,125 at the 2026 value of 117.31) ↗

1. 1

   1. Complain Directly to the Operator

   Contact the operator first and keep screenshots and transaction IDs. We found no general duty on operators to run a complaints procedure, but a promotion's terms must carry contact details for claims and a loyalty programme's terms must state its complaint channels. Codere lists chat, a free phone line, email and WhatsApp under 'Quejas y reclamaciones' (operator statement).

2. 2

   2. If You Won and Were Not Paid, Claim to SEGOB

   If you consider yourself a winner and the permit holder does not pay your prize, you can lodge a claim with SEGOB. The DGJS then decides, can sanction the permit holder and requires it to deliver the prize. A winning bet slip stays collectable for 60 working days after the event, and a draw prize must be delivered within 20 working days of the draw. This is the only route to SEGOB that the texts give players: for deposits, account closure or bonus terms we found no route.

3. 3

   3. Try PROFECO, the Consumer Agency

   PROFECO receives consumer complaints and runs a conciliation hearing; arbitration goes ahead only if both sides agree on the arbitrator. There is no independent, gambling-specific dispute-resolution body. Consumer rights fall generally under PROFECO, though its jurisdiction over online gambling disputes is legally untested.

4. 4

   4. Seek Legal Action

   The remaining route is a court claim, usually with local legal counsel. We did not research court procedure for betting disputes. SEGOB can make a permit holder deliver unpaid prizes, but we found no power for it to order refunds of deposits or bonus balances.

• Myth

  A .mx domain means the site is licensed in Mexico.
  Reality

  No. A domain name says nothing about a permit. Each online authorisation is tied to a specific domain, and the DGJS publishes the list of authorised web pages. Match the site's domain against that list: the DGJS registry is the only legally binding source, and a footer's permit statement is the operator's own claim.

• Myth

  Being on the DGJS list of web pages means a site is taking bets today.
  Reality

  Not necessarily. The June 2026 list gives each page a status: 86 of the 136 are operating, 27 are 'baja temporal' (temporarily withdrawn), 13 have no operations and 10 are marked 'en suspension DGJS', among them www.bet365.mx and www.betano.mx. Read the status column, not just the name.

• Myth

  A big sports-betting or casino win can be hit with 21% federal tax.
  Reality

  Not on a bet. Under LISR art. 138 a betting prize carries 1% of the total amount shared among the winning tickets. The 21% rate applies only to lottery, raffle, sweepstake and contest prizes, and only where the state's own tax on the prize is above 6%. Mexico City's prize tax is 6%, so it does not trigger it. The withholding is definitive where you file the annual return art. 90 requires; otherwise you add the prize to your other income and credit the withholding.

• Myth

  If the site doesn't deduct tax, my winnings are tax-free.
  Reality

  Do not assume so. The payer's withholding is how the prize tax is normally collected, and a resident must report prizes, loans and donations in the annual return when together they exceed MXN 600,000. Prizes won in games not authorised in Mexico fall outside the withholding articles, and we did not research how they are taxed instead, so ask a Mexican tax adviser before you rely on an unwithheld payment being final.

• Myth

  I can deposit crypto at a Mexican licensed site.
  Reality

  No. Cryptocurrency is not legal tender and is not permitted under the gambling rules, which require every operation in Mexican pesos.

• Myth

  Offshore betting is fine as long as I can deposit.
  Reality

  No instrument we read recognises a foreign licence. The protections the rules give players exist only against permit holders: a bond covering unpaid prizes and the claim to SEGOB when a permit holder does not pay a winner. We found no rule that penalises a player for betting online with an unlicensed operator, but a player attending unlawful gambling premises can face one month to two years in prison and a fine.

1. 7 Oct 2026

   Prize tax corrected: a betting prize carries 1% federal withholding. The 21% rate applies only to lottery and draw prizes, in states whose own prize tax is above 6%.

   Source: Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, art. 138 · Research team
2. 7 Oct 2026

   Bet365.mx and Betano.mx are shown as suspended, as the DGJS list of authorised web pages prints them (June 2026).

   Source: DGJS: list of authorised web pages, June 2026 · Research team

A change that came from a reader says so here, with their name if they asked to be credited. Every change is checked against its source first.