Operating in Mexico: sports betting and poker only, 50% tax

Bonuses and promotions are regulated as 'promociones' under the DGJS Lineamientos: an offer to the public of direct benefits in money or in kind needs the DGJS's express written authorisation before it runs, and silence is not approval. Welcome bonuses fall under that definition: they are promotions, need the DGJS's prior authorisation and are heavily scrutinised; free bets are promotions too. Two pending bills seek to ban gambling advertising.

Sources5678

Channel rules for Mexico reflect each platform's published policy and the sources numbered in each row (listed under Methodology & sources). Verify with the local regulator and your ad-platform account manager before launching.

Sources111213

• June 2026

  www.bet365.mx and www.betano.mx (two of 10 pages listed 'en suspensión DGJS')

  LicensingListed as suspended on the DGJS list of authorised web pages

  The DGJS list of authorised web pages (file dated June 2026) gives each page a status; ten are 'en suspensión DGJS', among them www.bet365.mx and www.betano.mx. The list states no reason. It was read in the Internet Archive copy of 18 August 2026 because the DGJS site could not be reached on 7 October 2026.

  Read-across: The DGJS publishes a status for every authorised page, so a suspension is public. The list says nothing about whether, when or why a suspension was lifted.

  Source
• November 2025

  13 establishments operating physically and virtually (not named in the SEGOB release)

  AMLAccounts listed for blocking by the UIF; operation suspended by the DGJS

  On 11 November 2025 SEGOB announced that, after a Hacienda investigation with the Security Cabinet, 13 casinos that operate physically and virtually had been listed by the financial intelligence unit (UIF) for account blocking, and that the DGJS had suspended their operation. The release does not name them.

  Read-across: The two measures are account blocking and a DGJS suspension of operation; enforcement in Mexico is financial, through UIF account blocking, not domain blocking. Separately, the DGJS list of authorised web pages (June 2026) shows 10 pages as 'en suspensión DGJS', among them www.bet365.mx and www.betano.mx; the release does not say whether those pages are connected to the 13.

  Source
• November 2025

  Ten Mexico-based casinos (Emine, Mirage, five Midas, Palermo and two Skampa)

  AMLFinCEN finding and notice of proposed rulemaking (a proposal, not a block)

  On 13 November 2025 the United States Treasury's FinCEN issued a finding and notice of proposed rulemaking naming ten Mexico-based casinos as a class of transactions of primary money-laundering concern.

  Read-across: A foreign measure aimed at land-based premises, still a proposal as read. It shows United States scrutiny of AML controls at Mexican gambling establishments.

  Source

As of 13 Oct 2026, 39 permit holders (23 with an authorised web page) are on the register in Mexico. Size your entry against this base before committing capital. Check them yourself on the official SEGOB DGJS register, which lists each licensee and its authorised domains.

Notable licensed operators

• Caliente.mx

• Codere

• The IEPS base and what is deducted from it

  The IEPS is 50% from 1 January 2026 on the amount received from players, in betting the total of the bets, less prizes actually paid and sums returned (LIEPS art. 18), so close to gross gaming revenue for a domestic operator. For the online services of foreign residents without an establishment in Mexico the decree of 7 November 2025 took the value 'sin disminución alguna': no prize is deducted and the 50% applies to the gross amount received, an essentially prohibitive burden for unlicensed foreign operators targeting Mexican consumers. The participation fixed in the permit and the state gambling taxes actually paid are deducted from the IEPS, the state deduction capped at one fifth (art. 5o.-B), so the layers do not simply add up. Of the state taxes only Mexico City was read (13% for organisers). Corporate income tax of 30% is separate.

  Sources171819

• SAT real-time duty (LIEPS art. 20)

  Taxpayers that habitually run the games in fixed establishments must keep a central betting system and a cash-control system and give the SAT permanent real-time information. The sanction for non-compliance is closure of the establishments, unless the cause is a system failure not attributable to the taxpayer and notified to the SAT. The text read does not say whether the duty reaches an operator with no fixed establishment, and the SAT's technical rules were not read. Check the position with Mexican tax counsel before assuming either way.

  Sources17

• Permit structure: a Mexican company, one permit, one authorisation per page

  Online betting is not a separate permit type. A company constituted under Mexican law may apply for the centro de apuestas remotas permit itself (no numerical cap is stated), and the DGJS authorises each web page or domain on proof of the right to use it. A foreign company can be a shareholder, with disclosure of its accounts, board, 10% holders and beneficial owners, and no chain of shareholders may sit in a preferential-tax jurisdiction except the listed-company and fund exceptions. The permit cannot be assigned or transferred (a grave infraction punishable by revocation); other grave infractions include non-compliance with the permit's terms, interrupting operation twice in twelve months and paying the participaciones late. The DGJS list of June 2026 shows pages as 'baja temporal', 'sin operaciones' and 'en suspensión DGJS'.

  Sources61620

• Promotions need DGJS authorisation first

  No promotion or special event may run without the DGJS's express written authorisation, and silence is not approval (Lineamientos 9, 12). The request must state the terms, the validity period, the pages and the advertising to be used. The notice period differs: at least 30 days in the Reglamento (art. 78, as reformed 2023) and 15 working days in the 2021 Lineamientos; the later Reglamento overtakes the older figure. The DGJS denies or cancels promotions that disregard responsible play. Welcome bonuses fall under the definition of promotion and are heavily scrutinised; free bets are promotions too.

  Sources56

• Bills to ban gambling advertising in committee

  Two bills on gambling advertising are in committee and neither is law: a PRI deputy's bill (3 March 2026) would ban advertising of casas de juego y apuestas, online platforms included, in family hours, and an MC deputy's bill (17 December 2025) would change the rules on advertising and minors. Today no time restriction specific to gambling is in force.

  What is coming: Bill to ban gambling advertising in family hours, online platforms included: in committee (Heads-up for operators).

  Sources2122

• AML duties tighten from 30 November 2026

  The reglas modified by the DOF acuerdo of 7 August 2026 enter into force on 30 November 2026. Training is due from 1 January 2027, the risk assessment and policy manual from 1 March 2027, automated monitoring by 1 June 2027 and the first annual compliance audit period starts 1 January 2028; new aviso formats apply from 1 June 2027. Identification is required from 325 UMA and an aviso from 645 UMA.

  Sources232425

• Payments: national currency and no credit

  Operations must be in national currency (RLFJS art. 10) and the permit holder may not extend credit to bettors, directly or indirectly (art. 11). An internet bet counts as paid when the bank confirms payment (art. 86). Cryptocurrency is not permitted: all operations are in Mexican pesos. Codere's help pages list Visa and Mastercard, American Express, Mercado Pago, SPEI, OXXO, Paynet, Paysafecard, Todito Cash and Astropay (operator statement, not law).

  Sources626

• Myth

  A Curaçao or MGA licence is enough to operate legally in Mexico.
  Reality

  No. No instrument read recognises a foreign licence of any kind, and only a SEGOB permit held by a company constituted under Mexican law lets an operator take bets in Mexico. The IEPS also reaches the online services of foreign residents: 50% on the gross amount received with no prize deduction, with registration under arts. 5o.-A BIS and 20-A and a monthly return. The 50% gross tax makes the market essentially prohibitive for unlicensed foreign operators. The regulator does not block domains; enforcement is financial, through UIF account blocking, and the absence of blocking is not a permission.

  Sources61817

• Myth

  The headline IEPS rate is all you pay in Mexico.
  Reality

  No, but the layers are not simply added to it either. The IEPS is 50% from 1 January 2026 on the amount received less prizes paid (gross for foreign online services). Besides it come the participation fixed in the permit (1% to 4% of bets or tickets sold on the 2026 DGJS tariff lines; the line for a centro de apuestas remotas is not named), state gambling taxes (Mexico City 13% for organisers, the only state read) and 30% corporate income tax. The participation and the state taxes actually paid are deducted from the IEPS, the state deduction capped at one fifth (art. 5o.-B).

  Sources172919

• Myth

  We can only enter Mexico through a land-based partner.
  Reality

  No rule requires one. Online betting runs on the centro de apuestas remotas permit, which a company constituted under Mexican law may apply for itself (no numerical cap is stated), plus a DGJS authorisation of each page or domain. A foreign company may own it, subject to disclosure and the tax-haven restriction. The DGJS does not publish a capital figure, so the entry cost has to be asked of SEGOB. There is no B2B regime: the 2023 reform repealed art. 30 and wound down the 'operadora' structure, and no foreign B2B licence is recognised.

  Sources62028

• Myth

  All advertising needs DGJS pre-approval.
  Reality

  No text read requires each advertisement or creative to be pre-approved. Advertising is allowed once the permit is held, on the conditions of RLFJS art. 9 (permit number, under-age and responsible-play messages, nothing misleading). Promotions and special events, welcome bonuses included, do need the DGJS's express written authorisation first, and silence is not approval.

  Sources65

1. FranceChecked
   AlbaniaReviewed
   RussiaAI overview

   Online casino banned; betting and lottery licensed; licensed market; tax on GGR.

2. Bosnia and HerzegovinaChecked

   Betting and lottery licensed; poker limited; licensed market; most ad channels open to licensed operators only.

3. South AfricaIn review

   Online casino banned; betting and lottery licensed; licensed market; foreign licences mostly not recognised.