Online gambling in Mexico: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Mexico?

Gambling is governed by the Federal Gaming and Raffles Law of 1947 and its 2004 Regulation, administered by SEGOB's Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos (DGJS). There is no online-only licence: a permit holder with a land-based sportsbook or casino permit may be authorized to take bets online, so international brands enter as technology and service partners of an existing permit holder. A decree published on 16 November 2023 froze new casino permits, banned slot machines and cut permit terms; it is suspended for many incumbents by court injunctions and awaits a Supreme Court ruling. From 2026 licensed operators, including foreign platforms serving Mexican users, pay 50% IEPS on gross gaming revenue and give the tax authority (SAT) real-time access to betting data.

Partially regulated: Some verticals are licensed (usually betting); others are prohibited or unaddressed.

Who regulates gambling in Mexico?

• Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos, Secretaría de Gobernación (DGJS / SEGOB) — Federal permitting authority: grants and supervises gaming permits, approves internal control systems and advertising, and sanctions permit holders
• Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) — Collects IEPS and income tax on gambling and, from 2026, holds real-time read-only access to operators' central betting systems

Mexico gambling licence: how it works

Permits are granted by the DGJS to Mexican companies under the 2004 Regulation, with disclosed beneficial owners, a guarantee bond covering unpaid prizes and a DGJS-approved internal control system. The 16 November 2023 decree stopped new casino-style permits, abolished the 'operador' figure that let third parties run brands under someone else's permit, and set a maximum permit term of 15 years, so in practice online access runs only through the roughly 38 existing permit holders. Online betting is an authorization layered onto a land-based permit: the permit holder asks the DGJS to approve internet and mobile bet capture through its control system, and the international brand supplies platform, content and marketing under a services contract.

What an applicant needs

• Mexican company as permit holder; foreign entities cannot hold a permit directly
• Disclosure of shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners with sworn clean-record declarations
• Guarantee bond covering unpaid prizes over 60 days of average operation (Regulation art. 29)
• DGJS-approved internal control system for remote and electronic bet capture, with peso settlement
• Central betting and cash-control systems with permanent real-time read-only access for the SAT (from 2026)
• AML program under the LFPIORPI 'vulnerable activities' regime: KYC, beneficial-owner identification and reports to the SAT and UIF
• DGJS pre-approval of advertising and house rules, plus monthly, quarterly and audited annual reporting

Gambling taxes in Mexico

• Operators: IEPS at 50% of bets received less prizes paid and amounts returned (a GGR base) from 1 January 2026, up from 30%, under the reform published on 7 November 2025; it also applies to foreign providers without a Mexican establishment serving users in Mexico. Corporate income tax of 30% and the DGJS federal participation apply on top, and state gambling taxes vary (around 12–13% in Mexico City and the State of Mexico, lower elsewhere), partly creditable against IEPS.
• Players: 1% federal income tax withheld on prizes from games with bets (Income Tax Law art. 138), plus state prize taxes of up to about 6% (6% in Mexico City). For lotteries and raffles the federal rate is 1% where the state levy does not exceed 6% and 21% where it does.
• Also: The 2026 Miscellaneous Tax Resolution (Annex 17) requires monthly XML reports of bets, prizes and balances; non-compliant online platforms can be suspended or blocked.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Regulation article 9 requires DGJS pre-approval of campaigns, display of the permit number and responsible-gaming messaging, and prohibits advertising that misleads, encourages excess or targets minors. A bill introduced in February 2026 would confine television gambling advertising to a 22:30–06:00 watershed; it had not been enacted as of September 2026.

Responsible gaming

Age limit of 18, no gambling on credit, DGJS-approved house rules with responsible-gaming provisions, and self-exclusion tools offered by the main licensed brands. There is no national self-exclusion register.

Identity and age verification

Betting is a 'vulnerable activity' under the anti-money-laundering law (LFPIORPI): identity and beneficial-owner verification, record-keeping and threshold and suspicious-activity reports to the SAT and UIF. From 2026 prizes above MXN 10,000 are reported to the SAT monthly at player level.

Payments

Bets and payouts must be settled in Mexican pesos. Debit and credit cards, SPEI bank transfers, cash deposits at convenience stores and digital wallets are the main rails; cryptocurrency is not accepted as a betting medium under the current framework. The 2025 tax reform lets authorities restrict payment services used by non-compliant platforms.

Notable restrictions

• No new casino-style permits since the November 2023 decree; slot machines are banned by the decree but the ban is suspended for operators holding court injunctions
• No online-only permit: online betting runs only under an existing permit holder's DGJS authorization
• The 'operador' figure was abolished in 2023, so third parties act as service providers rather than sub-licensees
• Peso settlement only; no credit betting and no cryptocurrency
• Foreign platforms serving Mexican users owe 50% IEPS from 2026 and can be blocked for non-compliance

Mexico iGaming market: size, players and payments

Estimates vary by definition: the industry association AIEJA put total online gross gaming revenue, including unlicensed sites, at about USD 3.2 billion for 2025, the first year online overtook land-based (NEXT.io, September 2025), while Mordor Intelligence estimated the licensed online market at about USD 0.79 billion in 2025.

AIEJA estimated in October 2025 that about 60% of operators serving Mexicans lacked a SEGOB permit.

Mobile-first: licensed brands report the large majority of bets through apps and mobile web, and Mexico co-hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Caliente is the clear leader (about 34% of brand power in the July 2025 Blask Index), followed by BetMexico, bet365, Codere and Playdoit; about 38 permit holders support roughly 120 online brands (AIEJA, 2024).

Timeline: how Mexico got here

1. 1947Federal Gaming and Raffles Law (Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos) enacted
2. 2004-09Regulation creates the modern permit system and allows permit holders to capture bets electronically
3. 2023-11Presidential decree freezes new casino permits, bans slot machines, abolishes the operador figure and cuts permit terms to 15 years
4. 2024Amparo suits suspend the decree for incumbent operators; the Supreme Court takes up the lead case
5. 2025-09SEGOB tells Congress a new gaming law covering online platforms is being drafted
6. 2025-11IEPS reform published on 7 November raising the gambling rate from 30% to 50% and extending it to foreign providers
7. 2026-0150% IEPS and real-time SAT access to betting systems take effect
8. 2026-09SEGOB completes its reform proposal for the 1947 law and sends it to the Security Cabinet

Outlook

Three things are pending as of September 2026: the Supreme Court's decision on the 2023 decree and the slot-machine ban, Congress's treatment of SEGOB's new gaming law proposal (aimed at money laundering, tax fraud and online platforms), and the February 2026 advertising watershed bill. Industry groups have warned that the 50% IEPS will push volume to unlicensed sites, and constitutional challenges to the rate were expected. Plan on the 1947 law, the 2023 decree and the 2026 tax regime until a new statute is enacted.

Launching in Mexico with GameBridge

Model decided with counsel. A brand cannot obtain its own online permit in Mexico; it operates as a technology and services partner of a SEGOB permit holder, and that structure and the 50% IEPS economics have to be settled with Mexican counsel before a platform decision makes sense. Once a permit-holder agreement exists, GameBridge delivers the platform on a turnkey basis; it does not hold a Mexican permit.

A Mexican brand on GameBridge runs in Spanish (Latin America) with an MXN wallet, geo-controls that admit only users in Mexico and states where the permit holder is authorized, and cards, SPEI and convenience-store cash rails on request through the permit holder's payment partners. The platform is configured for peso-only settlement, no credit and no crypto, with 18+ identity checks and LFPIORPI reporting workflows, and its ledger exposes the data feeds the DGJS-approved control system and the SAT's real-time access require. GameBridge Studios and Originals ship with the certification package the permit holder's laboratory or auditor needs.

• Spanish (Latin America) site language with an MXN wallet and peso-only settlement
• Geo-controls by country and Mexican state
• Cards, SPEI and cash-voucher rails through the permit holder's processors
• Real-time reporting feeds for the SAT and the permit holder's control system
• 18+ identity gates, LFPIORPI AML workflows and prize-tax withholding reports
• Certification package for every GameBridge Studios and Originals release

Football leads Mexican volume with slots, live casino and crash games growing fast; the aggregated catalog brings the studios Mexican players know, and GameBridge Studios builds exclusive football- or lucha-themed slots to the operator's brief.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Se aprueba incremento de tasa del IEPS a juegos con apuestas y sorteos — BDO México, accessed 2026-09-11
• Ley del Impuesto Sobre la Renta, artículo 138 (tasas de impuesto y retención sobre premios) — Servicio de Administración Tributaria, accessed 2026-09-11
• Permisos Autorizados de Juegos y Sorteos — Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos, SEGOB, accessed 2026-09-11
• Mexico: Segob advances new Gaming and Sweepstakes Law, sends proposal to Security Cabinet — Yogonet, accessed 2026-09-11
• How to Get a Gambling License in Mexico (2026) — Step by Step — GamblingMaps, accessed 2026-09-11
• NEXT iGaming Market in Focus: Mexico (September 2025) — NEXT.io, accessed 2026-09-11
• Advierten que cobro de IEPS de 50% a casinos fomentará la informalidad — Proceso, accessed 2026-09-11
• Mexico Online Gambling Market Size, Forecast 2031 — Mordor Intelligence, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.