Welcome to New Mexico, that offers an awesome gambling experience! This state offers a whole suite of gaming options. There are no commercially owned casinos, which therefore means that all casinos are owned and operated by native American tribes. Legalization of online gambling remains in discussion with debate regarding reduction in state revenues due to unregulated gambling.
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As with all native American operated casinos in the US, the Indian Gaming Regulation Act (IGRA) applies and thus a compact is required to determine the legality of gaming. The compact in New Mexico allows all casinos to operate Class III games, which equates to Vegas gaming. Gaming laws in NM require electronic gaming machines to return a minimum of 80% to a maximum of 96%. Unlike other states in the US, NM did not declare their actual percentage of payout and is therefore lacking in transparency.
In addition to Class III casino table games and gaming machines, New Mexico also offers Class II gaming which includes bingo.
Casinos in New Mexico therefore offer: blackjack, poker (various forms), Spanish 21, craps, roulette, video slots, video poker, baccarat, pai gow, ultimate Texas hold ‘em, keno, bingo and off track betting.
BUT please note, tribal casinos, under the IGRA cannot offer your typical vegas slot machine. The slot machines that can be offered are the Class II slot machines that behave using bingo logic.
New Mexico Online Gambling
New Mexico online gambling is technically not permitted, but that’s not to say it does not happen. Law enforcement agencies and even the State Senate is well aware of unregulated gambling, and this is stirring discussions to legalize and regulate the online casino industry.
In the meantime, there are only two legalized online gambling options. They are: Daily Fantasy Sports and horse racing. Online casino and online poker are yet to be formally legalized.
New Mexico ranks as the 44th in the US for playing at offshore online casinos. Wagering an estimated $2.2 million per year, it ranks just above Montana and behind Maine. The state with the largest wagering for offshore online casino is California at $180 million.
Best 5 New Mexico Casinos Online
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Overview of New Mexico Casinos
New Mexico has 29 casinos in which you’ll find more than 17,937 slots and gaming machines.
New Mexico Casinos
Sandia Resort and Casino
30 Rainbow Road Northeast, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The 140,000 square feet casino offers 2300 gaming slots and 15 poker tables. A good variety of options on the menu for food, liquor, and beer.
Sky City Casino Hotel
I-40 Exit 102, Acoma, New Mexico
The casino floor, including the 500 seat bingo room covers over 60,000 square feet and includes nearly 700 slots and video poker machines, 10 gaming tables and a poker pit. Great service.
Isleta Casino & Resort
11000 Broadway Boulevard Southeast, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The casino is 300,000 square feet and has 1600 slots and 28 table games. Clean space, affordable and tasty food, very kind staff.
Fire Rock Casino
249 East State highway 18, Church Rock, New Mexico
Offer 900 slots for the visitors. The food is great.
The Downs Racetrack and Casino
145 Louisiana Boulevard Northeast, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The 65,000 square feet casino offers 700 gaming machines to the gambling enthusiasts.
Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino
1200 Futurity Drive, Sunland Park, New Mexico
The casino features 36,000 square feet of gaming floor with more than 700 slot machines. You’ll also find two state-of-the-art Table Master Games, featuring Blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold-em. The staff is very friendly and prices on drinks and food are fair.
Buffalo Thunder Casino at Hilton Sante Fe
30 Buffalo Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico
70,000 square feet covers the casino floor consisting of 1200 slots 16 table games and 8 poker table. Nice place to win some money, people are friendly.
2752 Upper Fruitland Hwy, Farmington, New Mexico
The casino and entertainment center opened in January 2012 and features an 85,000 square foot casino floor with over 750 slot machines, 10 table games, 6 poker tables. Nice atmosphere cleaner intelligence staff excellent valet service.
Sports betting
Oddly New Mexico, went about legalizing differently from other states. Rather than following the path of changing the constitution regarding sports betting after the overturning of the PASPA law, New Mexico law makers went down the path of discovering a loop hole and therefore went about legalizing sports betting.
The loophole is: Class III categorization of betting includes by definition sports book wagering. In defining Class III, sports betting was deemed legal. By late 2018, New Mexico became the sixth state to legalize sports booking betting, in a round about way.
Class categorization is used in the grouping of gaming options which are allowable in a compact between the Federal Government and native American casinos. As all the casinos in New Mexico are native American, they can all offer sports betting as a gambling option.
Live betting is allowed on both professional and amateur games, however, betting is not allowed to be placed on any local teams.
New Mexico's Gambling Laws Interpreted by a Lawyer
It should come as no surprise that New Mexico has many live, Tribal Casinos, to whom near absolute control is granted. When this is combined with the state’s non-regulation of online gambling and sportsbook making, the state is a positive one for individuals wishing to place bets. See NMAC § 30-19-2 et seq.; NMAC § 60-1A-1 et seq.Sports Betting: Online betting on fantasy sports and general sportsbook making is unregulated in New Mexico, permitting FanDuel, DraftKings and others to operate within the state though no online casinos exist within the state thus far. General sports bets are permitted at the state’s Tribal Casinos.
Race Betting: Like in many states, horse race betting is legal in New Mexico at its racing tracks as well as other venues that allow simulcast and pari-mutuel betting. Online and off-track betting is possible only through those platforms that accept New Mexico residents, such as TwinSpires.
Online Gambling: Online gambling is unregulated in the state of New Mexico. Thus, individuals wishing to participate in online gambling, including poker and other such games of skill, may place bets online through offshore platforms and online casinos operating outside of the state.
Online Gaming: Skill games are permitted, with online platforms like WorldWinner and others accepting New Mexico residents.
Disclaimer: The information in this multi-state research is made available by a licensed, U.S. attorney, and is for informational purposes only. We make no representations that the information is complete or correct in its entirety. It should not be construed as providing specific legal advice, and you acknowledge that no attorney/client relationship exists between us. This brief should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed gambling and entertainment lawyer in your state.
Bordering States
Colorado | Texas | Oklahoma | Arizona | Mexico
External links
Wikipedia: List of casinos in New Mexico.