Mexico Sports Betting Expansion Bill Stalls Ahead Of World Cup
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a Mexican lawmaker introduced a bill to expand sports betting and online casino gambling in Mexico.
The intention is to attract more investment from the online gambling industry.
However, progress on the bill has slowed. In January 2026, the Chamber of Deputies’ Commission on Governance and Population authorized an extension for the proposal’s review until Aug. 31, 2027.
As a result, the measure won’t become law before the 2026 World Cup kicks off.
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, with Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey hosting matches.
Is Sports Betting Legal in Mexico?
Online sports betting is already legal in Mexico under a federal permit system from the Secretariat of the Interior.
Critics say the framework is outdated and uneven. Some parts of the country may be considered gray markets, creating operational challenges and uncertainty for the online gambling industry.
As such, ongoing reform efforts are designed to modernize and expand the market, create a broader regulatory structure, and potentially make Mexico more attractive to global gambling operators.
Mexico Betting Expansion
Federal lawmaker Ricardo Sóstenes Mejía Berdeja, a member of the Partido del Trabajo, filed the betting expansion proposal in 2025. The draft text was dated Oct. 7, 2025.
The proposal is named “la Ley Federal de Juegos con Apuesta y Sorteos.” It would replace Mexico’s existing federal gambling law, which dates to 1947.
The initiative was formally turned over to the Commission on Governance and Population for review, with the Commission on Budget and Public Accounts asked to issue an opinion.
The legislation seeks to increase online casino and sports gambling.
In 2026, the World Cup will be held across North America, and Mejía wanted the government and licensed operators to take a bigger piece of the action.
While aimed heavily at online betting, the proposal could also create a much broader gambling framework for Mexico, including live casino-style gambling conducted by croupiers and regulated by a proposed new national gambling institute.
The proposal would create the Instituto Nacional de Juegos y Sorteos as a technically and operationally autonomous body within the Interior Ministry.
According to a translation of the proposal’s text, these changes would mark a “radical paradigm shift” for Mexican gambling.
Size of the Mexican Online Gambling Market
Gambling law in Mexico is muddled, with a 1947 law allowing some forms of betting to be regulated.
Mexico also tightened parts of its gambling framework in 2023.
A November 2023 reform to the federal gambling regulation banned slot-machine-style gambling for new permit holders and limited existing slot-machine permissions to a nonrenewable 15-year period.
In addition to regulatory complexities, Mexico has an unpredictable tax regime for online gambling.
Mexico’s legal online gambling market grew from $600 million in 2019 to $2.7 billion in 2024, according to Mejía’s proposal.
Officials projected the Mexican online gambling sector would surpass $3 billion in 2025.
According to the proposal, illegal offshore online gambling accounts for 60% of online gambling activity in Mexico. An estimated $300 million in online betting losses are not subject to taxes.
Mexico Betting Bill Follows U.S. Model
Mejía’s proposal cited the U.S. as a model for expanding online sports betting in Mexico through a bill.
In 2025, the U.S. sports betting industry — which is mostly online — had over $16 billion in revenue, up from $13.7 billion the year prior.
Furthermore, Mejía wants Mexico’s online gambling sector to adopt the “responsible gaming” model, which serves as the basis for the U.S. market. However, critics argue that this framework places responsibility on users of a potentially addictive product.
The Mexico proposal includes “responsible gambling” tools, such as self-exclusion, time and betting limits, alerts for problematic play, and a ban on operators offering loans or credit to gamblers.
Previous Efforts For Sports Betting In Mexico
According to Mejía, legislators over the past two and a half decades have attempted to pass new laws to expand legal gambling.
This time, however, Mejía seems to believe that the potential tax windfall could be too large to ignore.
The lawmaker projected direct tax revenue of 5,024.7 million pesos, along with 2,578.3 million pesos in gambling-related participations under the 2026 federal budget framework.
Earlier unsuccessful attempts could have lacked a more populist message. According to Mejía, his proposal would “guarantee people’s right to recreational activity.”
DraftKings And FanDuel In Mexico?
As of May 2026, DraftKings and FanDuel sportsbooks are not licensed online sportsbooks in Mexico. These two platforms are the top players in the U.S. online gambling market.
FanDuel’s legal-sports-betting page describes availability by the U.S. state, not Mexico.
It’s unclear if either company would seek government approval to offer sports betting in Mexico should a reform and expansion bill eventually pass.
Sports bettors on online forums have mentioned using VPNs to access DraftKings, FanDuel, and other similar platforms.
Using a VPN to access DraftKings and FanDuel from Mexico violates their terms and conditions.
If DraftKings or FanDuel catches you using a VPN from Mexico, your account could be closed.
Bottom Line
Mexico’s proposed gambling overhaul has not become law.
The bill was filed before the 2026 World Cup, but lawmakers have pushed the review deadline to Aug. 31, 2027.
Mexico still has time to avoid repeating the U.S. mistake. According to public health experts, it’s unwise to expand online betting first and then manage the damage later.
Mexican Gambling & Sports Betting FAQ
Yes, sports betting is allowed in Mexico when offered by an operator authorized by the federal government.
Mexico’s federal gambling law allows betting on “toda clase de deportes,” but gambling businesses need permission from the Secretaría de Gobernación, or SEGOB.
Unlicensed or unauthorized betting sites are not legal.
Yes. Mexico’s 1947 Federal Gaming and Raffles Law prohibits gambling unless it falls within permitted categories and is authorized by SEGOB. That means casinos, sports betting, raffles, and online gambling must operate under a federal permit or partnership with a permit holder.
Legal sports betting apps in Mexico are those operating under a valid SEGOB authorization or through a Mexican permit holder.
Caliente and Codere publicly describe their Mexican betting products as SEGOB-regulated, while Bet365 and Betano have also been publicly tied to Mexican permit arrangements, though they were caught up in a 2025-26 government blocking/legal dispute.
Users should check the app’s footer or legal page for a current SEGOB permit number before betting.
The gambling age in Mexico is effectively 18.
Mexico’s gambling regulations prohibit minors from entering or remaining in betting areas, except in limited live-event situations when accompanied by an adult.
Yes, there are casinos in Mexico. They are legal only when operating under federal authorization from SEGOB. Mexico also has a large casino and betting sector, but recent enforcement actions show that authorities are scrutinizing illegal or allegedly non-compliant casino operations.
Mexico uses a federal permit system rather than a simple state-by-state licensing model like in the U.S.
SEGOB, through its Dirección General de Juegos y Sorteos, authorizes, controls, and supervises gambling and betting operations.
Online operators typically need their own authorization or a formal relationship with a Mexican permit holder.
Caliente appears to be one of the biggest gambling brands in Mexico, and by web traffic, it may be the largest.
Semrush ranked caliente.mx as the leading gambling website in Mexico in March 2026, with an estimated 49.57 million monthly visits.
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