Mexico Gambling and Casino Scene

With casinos being banned for many years, it is only recently that Mexico is waking up to the new world of gambling. However, Mexico has always been a top market for the Las Vegas gambling industry. It ranks at number four on the list of favorite destination for gambling for international customers.

Casinos in Mexico

Mexico has forayed into casino and gambling after many decades and new facilities and permits are on the cards. A minimum of four new services are planned along the Texas-Mexico border. Besides this, over 35 gaming sites are expected to come up within 50 miles of the state's boundaries. Casinos may also come about in the beachfront resort cities of Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun. Border towns, such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez will have more casinos. Casinos are also expected to open in the Mexico City area.

It is speculated that with the legalization of gambling in Mexico, resorts worth over $500 million would open in Acapulco and Mazatlan as potential casinos. Many gambling companies of Las Vegas are keen to open casinos in the prospective market of Mexico. Experts in this industry are predicting that some of the big names like Park Place Entertainment Corp., MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. would show interest in Mexico.

Dog and Horse Racing in Mexico

Besides the new casinos, the government of Mexico has made public announcements of the names of permit holders of Racino, in August 2005. The names included names of famous organizations which own horse race tracks, dog race tracks and Jai Alai frontons. The list mainly included 22 master permit holders, along with their names and addresses. Many operators are keeping a close watch on the Dog and Horse racing market in Mexico and are putting their money in Racino and casinos.

Pari-mutuel Facilities and Lotteries in Mexico

Pari-mutuel facilities are gaining high popularity in Mexico. Horse tracks are present at Juarez under the aegis of Juarez race tracks while Mexico City has the world famous Hippodrome de la Americas. Along with horse tracks, greyhound racing has also returned to the Juarez racetrack and those interested in this activity, can have an exhilarating time in those racetracks. Lotteries, both offline and mainly online are also finding their place in Mexico. Lottery operator GTECH Holding Corp. has signed a contract with “Pronosticos Para la Assistencia Publica” to run an online lottery. eLOT Inc. is another lottery operator in Mexico that has received a patent registration that covers its systems for purchasing state and government lottery tickets over the Internet.

Poker in Mexico - Mexican Texas Holdem

Poker is played in some of the casinos in Mexico. One can play various Poker games including Caribbean Poker (one of the most favorite Poker games in Central America), Texas Holdem and Stud. You can enjoy Poker in Casinos like the one in Hotel Arawak. Besides Poker, other card games that are played in the casinos of Mexico are ‘Siete’ ‘Loco’ and ‘Malilla’.

Gambling Laws in Mexico

It is only recently that gambling has become legalized in Mexico. This has increased the potential of the gaming industry here. Though leading players of this industry want to set up their casinos in the beautiful tourist locations like Acapulco and Cancun, however the government of Mexico has to explicitly mention the exact locations where casinos would be given the required license to continue such activities.

One has to be extremely careful because if a gaming licensee gets into trouble in one jurisdiction, their license is at risk everywhere. Off track betters must be cautious on which service providers they use for placing their bets.