Guide to New Mexico Gambling Age: Casinos, Sports Betting & More

The great state of New Mexico is not known for its liberal gambling laws. While many forms of real money gaming are legal in the Land of Enchantment, they are still relatively restrictive with no form of online officially legal in the state. While the laws might not be especially liberal they are clear and it is easy to quickly grasp what forms are legal and what are not.

The New Mexico gambling age reflects the states’ more conservative approach to games of chance. The more popular and riskier forms have a higher legal gambling age, whereas those that are not as risky have a lower legal age.

In the table above we have outlined the legal gambling ages for all popular forms of betting in New Mexico. As mentioned in our introduction the riskier forms of casino gaming and sports betting have a higher legal age of 21, whereas less risky activities such as the state lottery and bingo have a lower legal age of 18. If there isn’t a restriction age underneath a form of gambling then it is most likely illegal in New Mexico.

On this page we will discuss each popular form of playing with real money in more detail, as well as letting you know the legal age for each form of legalized gambling in New Mexico. We will also discuss New Mexico’s gaming laws and if there are any impending legal changes that might mean changes to the current legal landscape.

Casino Age in New Mexico

Technically commercial casino gambling is illegal in New Mexico, however, there are a few loopholes that have allowed tribal casinos and a few racinos to establish themselves in New Mexico’s borders. The legal casino age in New Mexico is 21 and it applies to both tribal casinos and racinos.

Tribal casinos were first established in New Mexico in 1995. In accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 1988, US states and local tribes can enter into compacts that allow the tribes to build casinos on tribal lands within the state’s borders. These casinos are managed by the tribes themselves, and undersigned compacts with the state, New Mexico has input into what games are on offer.

At last count there were 27 tribal casinos operating in New Mexico. Under the compacts with New Mexico state, these casinos are able to offer Class III casino games which include traditional casino table games such as blackjack, roulette, poker, and more. These casinos are also licensed to offer electronic slot machines and games of chance.

The other form of casino gambling on offer in New Mexico are select electronic games that are on offer at five racinos located across the state. Under the laws that govern the state’s racetracks, there is a loophole that allows race tacks with proper licensing to offer pari-mutuel wagering the ability to also offer electronic gaming machines onsite.

The casino age limit is likely to set to 21 as 21 is also the legal drinking age in the US. Most casinos operating in New Mexico sell alcohol, therefore it makes sense that the entry age also mirrors the drinking age as this allows the casinos to avoid any issues with potentially serving alcohol to anyone who is underage.

What are The Casinos In New Mexico that accept 18 year Olds?

There are no casinos in New Mexico that accept 18-year-olds, the legal New Mexico gambling age for entering casinos is 21. However, 18-year-old residents of the Land of Enchantment shouldn’t’ be disheartened though, there are still some forms of real money games that 18-year-olds can get involved in New Mexico. The state lottery, bingo, pari-mutuel betting, and Daily Fantasy Sports are all available for those 18 years and older in New Mexico.

For those who are above the age of 21 and want to gamble at either one of New Mexico’s tribal casinos or racinos we have complied a list of the top five casinos currently operating in the Land of Enchantment in the table below.

Sports Betting In New Mexico

Surprisingly New Mexico was an early adopter of sports betting after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992 (PASPA) was overturned in 2018. However, once you discover the way in which sports betting was legalized in the Land of Enchantment then it is easier to see how it fits in with New Mexico’s established approach to gambling laws.

The legal age for sports betting in New Mexico is 21, in line with New Mexico’s casino age. Sports betting was legalized shortly after PASPA was overturned in 2018. Sports betting was legalized so quickly in New Mexico as in 2018 an established tribal casino, Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel, cited the states’ gambling laws and claimed that the laws allowed for sports betting. Siding with the casino New Mexico’s state legislature agreed that the current laws did allow for sports betting, and since this declaration sports betting has been available at all of the state’s tribal casinos.

Another form of sports betting legal in New Mexico is pari-mutuel betting. Pari-mutuel betting on horse racing has been legal in the state since 1946, and residents of New Mexico can place bets on horse races at the local racetracks and a selection of licensed off-track betting locations.

In terms of future developments in sports betting in New Mexico the next logical step would be for the state to legalize online and mobile betting. However, given New Mexico’s history of not adopting modern forms of real money games willingly, their online counterparts still might be awhile away.

New Mexico Online Gambling Age

Online gambling is illegal in all forms in New Mexico. Unfortunately for fans of online gaming, New Mexico has a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of online games including casino, sports betting and online lottery. As online real money activities are illegal in New Mexico there is no legal online gambling age.

While New Mexico is well ahead of other US states in terms of bricks and mortar casinos, there has been a massive reluctance towards adopting any form of online betting in the state. As members of the state’s legislature are continually debating the prospect of online gambling, it could mean that it will be legalized at some point in the future. However, there would have to be a vast change in the state legislatures’ mindset in order to legalize it.

Residents of New Mexico might be able to access online gambling websites that are managed off-shore while in the state borders. These off-shore websites generally offer online casino games and sports betting to those 18 years and older. While New Mexico residents might be excited at the prospect of playing on these sites there are several things to take into consideration before registering on them.

Firstly, these off-shore gaming sites are not licensed or regulated within the US, because of this any players who encounter any issues on the sites will have no recourse against the sites under the US consumer protection laws. Secondly, as online gambling is illegal in New Mexico any resident caught playing online could be prosecuted.

While online gaming is not legal in New Mexico there are still various forms of in person wagering that are. To check out which forms are legal in the Land of Enchantment check out our legal gambling age table at the top of this page.

Poker Gambling Age

Poker is one of the most popular casino games worldwide, land-based poker is legal in New Mexico while online poker is still illegal. The legal gambling age for playing land-based poker in New Mexico is 21. When tribal casinos were legalized in the Land of Enchantment as a part of the tribal compacts signed with New Mexico’s state legislature they were able to offer poker games within their establishments.

Alongside poker being available in tribal casinos in New Mexico, fans of poker can also find in-person games across the state at one of the many licensed card rooms. These card rooms are able to operate as they only offer non-house backed games, meaning that the card rooms themselves have no stake in the games being played.

Like all forms of online gambling in New Mexico, it doesn’t look like online poker will be made legal anytime soon. As long as the state legislature maintains there positioning against online wagering online poker will remain illegal.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports operates in a very grey area of legality in New Mexico. While not expressly legal Daily Fantasy Sports is also not illegal, so all the major operators operate in the Land of Enchantment under a cloud of assumed legality. Under this assumed legality players only have to be 18 years old to participate in Daily Fantasy Sports.

In 2016 a bill was presented to New Mexico’s state legislature in an effort to formally legalize Daily Fantasy Sports in the state. However, this bill has languished in the state senate for several years without any definitive decision being reached. It seems that New Mexico is waiting to see what other neighboring states will do before making their own decision on Daily Fantasy Sports legality.

Legal Age to Play the Lottery in New Mexico

In 1995 New Mexico legalized a state lottery. The New Mexico gambling age to participate in the state lottery in New Mexico is 18, and the lottery is managed internally by New Mexico Lottery.

New Mexico’s lottery offers all popular national lottery favorites such as Powerball, Mega Millions, and Lucky for Life, alongside state-specific scratch cards and lottery draws. The state lottery has been widely embraced by the New Mexico public with enjoying the diversity of games on offer.

Keeping in line with New Mexico’s tradition of being slow at adopting new forms of gambling, the state is yet to adopt an online lottery. The current in-person lottery is incredibly successful and the state is raising a lot of money from the current in-person lottery form.

While there have been moves in the past to attempt to legalize an online lottery in New Mexico there isn’t the ground support amongst New Mexico’s public to force the state legislature into adopting an online lottery.

New Mexico Gambling Laws & Future Outlook

New Mexico’s state gambling laws can be found within the state’s legislature under code 30-19-2. Under this code it is written ‘Making a bet; entering or remaining in a gambling place with intent to make a bet or play a gambling device’. Under this state legislature, ‘gambling places’ are defined as illegal and thus the only casinos that are allowed are those found on tribal lands that are established under federal law.

Each type of legal gaming is either specifically legislated for within the state’s legislature or has an implied legality through the reading of the statues, as is the case for sports betting. The same could be said for Daily Fantasy Sports as many argue that it is not even a form of gambling as it is technically a game of skill and not chance.

New Mexico’s gambling market is pretty healthy for a state that has a traditionally conservative approach to wagering. The state’s 27 tribal casinos have a $1.84 billion economic footprint in the state each year supporting over 15,000 jobs. Now that sports betting has also been legalized there will be an even bigger revenue injection to the state each year through the taxes applied to sports betting revenue.

Gambling winnings are taxed in New Mexico at each individuals personal income tax rate. At the end of each financial year, gaming winnings must be included as a form of personal income in residents’ tax returns. Some forms of gambling such as the state lottery also have other federal taxes applied to winnings over a certain threshold. Any lottery winnings over $5,000 have a 25% federal tax applied to them along with an additional 6% withheld as a state tax.

As mentioned above the gambling market in New Mexico is currently very healthy. All popular forms of in-person real money games are legal within the Land of Enchantment including several that are still not yet legal in neighboring states such as sports betting.

Any future developments in New Mexico’s gambling laws will most likely be a long way off. With the most recent development springing from a reinterpretation of an established statute, it appears that New Mexico’s legislature is unwilling to legislate for new gambling laws. Until there is a massive push for change amongst New Mexico’s public or legislature itself for law reform, things will most likely stay as they are for the near future.

Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this page has provided you with a good overview of the gambling laws in New Mexico along with an insight into the state’s legal gaming ages. If you still have any outstanding questions take a look at the answers to the most frequently asked questions below.