New Mexico Lottery Approves Game Tied to Sports Betting

In mid-October, New Mexico’s Santa Ana Star became the first casino in the state to offer legal sports betting The casino is operated by the Tamaya Nation at the Pueblo of Santa Ana and falls under the jurisdiction of tribal gaming laws, which means that it didn’t need to wait for long, drawn-out legislation in order to make sports betting a reality.

When the casino’s sports betting went live on October 15, state legislators had not yet decided what their stance would be on sports betting - and they still haven't. But despite quite on the legislative front, the New Mexico Lottery Authority has decided to ride the wave of sports betting and cash in on its potential revenue. On Tuesday, the lottery board unanimously voted in favor of a new game that will be tied to the outcome of sporting events.

Lottery CEO David Barden said the lottery’s sports game has the potential to generate $30 million a year, with a good portion of that going toward the lottery’s tuition assistance program for college students.

While details of the game are not set in stone, lottery officials say it will likely involve a parlay wager, in which players will bet on outcomes of at last 3 sporting events and need to be right on all 3 outcomes in order to win.

The game will be operated by Intralot, the same contractor that produces the famous Powerball and Roadrunner Cash. The game will be available at all of the New Mexico’s lottery retail outlets, as opposed to other states that offer lottery sports games, but at limited locations.

Providing that the New Mexico lottery doesn’t run into any legal obstacles (since sports betting hasn’t officially been legalized in the state), the game is expected to be released in 4 to 6 months.