Esports betting is yet to be officially rolled out across New Mexico, but there is ongoing discussion about legislation to allow it. New Mexico esports betting is still done via sites based overseas, but we do not advertise these illegal operators to our readers. The best eSports betting sites in the USA are only available in states that have allowed sports betting, however New Mexico appears to be some way off. At the moment there are several casinos that allow residents and visitors of New Mexico to place sports bets, however you will not find professional video game betting at these venues.

Esports betting in New Mexico 2021


Legal sports betting options in New Mexico

New Mexico is yet to legalize Esports bet in the state, but there is much discussion on how to push for a legislation to bring esports wagering into the mainstream. In the near future esports bet will be available to punters in New Mexico.

Four tribal casinos provide sports betting in New Mexico. Santa Ana Star Casino and Hotel accepted the state’s first sports wager on October 16, 2018. Buffalo Thunder and Isleta Resort & Casino followed after, and the Inn of the Mountain Gods is the latest to open a sportsbook in 2019, which is run by globally renowned bookmaker William Hill.

Santa Ana Star
Santa Ana Star was the first venue in New Mexico to take legal sports bets.

NM Venues with sports betting

  1. Santa Ana Star Casino and Hotel Sportsbook at The Star 1777 NW 44th Street, Lincoln City, OR 97367
  2. Buffalo Thunder Resort Casino Thunder Race & Sportsbook 20 Buffalo Thunder Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87506
  3. Isleta Resort & Casino Isleta Resort & Casino Sportsbook 11000 Broadway Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87105
  4. Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino Sportsbook at the Inn 287 Carrizo Canyon Rd, Mescalero, NM 88340

Most popular esports games in New Mexico

While New Mexico esports betting is not yet legal in this US state, esports is blossoming, with many games played at a competition level. The most popular esports games in New Mexico are:

  • DOTA 2

    Similar to League of Legends, Dota 2 allows five-on-five on a MOBA map and follows the same game principle. Dota 2 includes attractive graphics and a more strategic and less game-mechanical concentrated game play. The selection of over 110 different heroes and five different competitive roles makes the game different to its counterpart.

  • Fortnite

    The huge awearness from the release of the Battle Royale Shooter “Fortnite” has still not come down. The game idea is simple. The competition comprises of a total number of 100 players on a big map. The last man standing wins. Fortnite esports betting is available on all the major tournaments, as long as you are in a US state with legal online betting.
    Fortnite

  • Call of Duty(COD)

    With the release of the newly geo-located and modification of Call of Duty League in 2020, the game clench on to its ranking in 2020 as compared to 2019, with increase of three slots and only a low downtick in reward payout. Unlike the Overwatch League, the Call of Duty League is committed fast on to sustaining a tournament-style format similar to its pre-franchise model.

  • League of Legends

    The world’s most popular esport by viewership basis was able to be kept going through the covid-19 pandemic. Even though largely online-only features and League of Legends saw a massive movement of its ranking in 2020 because it didn’t see a major drop down in prize money.

  • FIFA 20

    FIFA is a series of association football sports video games made and released yearly by electronic arts under the EA Sports label. Soccer video games such as Sensible Soccer, kick off and Match Day had been created since the late 1980s and already competitive in the games market when EA Sports issued a statement that the football game as the next addition to their EA Sports label.
    FIFA 20


New Mexico Sports Betting to go online

New Mexico is the sixth state to make sports betting legal since the 2018 US Supreme Court decision to strike down a federal ban on sports gambling that had been in effect since 1992. New Mexico joins Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, and West Virginia as part of the first group of states to allow legal betting options.

New Mexico’s situation is special. Unlike other states on that list, New Mexico saw a tribal casino which started taking bets on sports before any official state legislation had been passed.

Santa Ana Star Casino & Hotel, located on the land of the Pueblo of Santa Ana Tamaya Nation tribe allowed its first wager in October of 2018. The compact that New Mexico has with the tribe offers all forms of online gambling which meant it was free to provide sports betting following the US Supreme Court decision.

The state of New Mexico hasn’t fittingly introduced legislation to make sport betting legal but many industry experts hold the opium it will happen soon since sports gambling is already available in the state via the tribal casino.

Top online sportsbooks active in some states in the USA


NM sports betting timeline

There’s a lot of discussions surrounding sports betting in New Mexico and we want to highlight a few important facts before we get into more detail:

  • Just few casinos offers sports betting and currently does not have mobile or online wagering.
  • Esports is still not legal in the New Mexico.
  • Pueblo of Santa Ana Gaming Regulatory Commission will oversee all sports betting activity.
  • Activities will be managed by Las Vegas-based USBookmaking.
  • Betting limits are $5 minimum, $500 maximum per bet.
  • No betting allowed on New Mexico or New Mexico State NCAA sports.

New Mexico sports betting laws – PASPA to now

If you don’t know, the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the PASPA ruling was an total game-changer in the United States sports betting industry.

In May of 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an appeal by the state of New Jersey that seek to overturn the long old ban on sports betting sites. That law called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), basically frown at sports gambling everywhere in the USA except for Nevada.

Getting rid of PASPA allow every state the opportunity to create its own laws on sports gambling to judge if it should be allowed and in what form. Four states joined Nevada right from the beginging. New Mexico, being the sixth in the State, went about it in a different manner than all the rest.

Due to a loophole in their compact with local tribal groups that neither prohibits or sanctions legal sports betting, the Santa Ana tribe can and has lawfully established sports betting.

Esportbet.com will keep you abreast of the latest developments in the New Mexico esports betting scene as they happen, including the latest law developments, best betting sites and much more.