Moving to Play Poker in Mexico – FAQ
Q&A with an American expat who moved to Mexico to
play online poker 🎅 after Black Friday – focusing on two popular destinations for poker
players, Playa Del Carmen (above) & Rosarito.
Online Poker in 🎅 Mexico
– Why move to
Mexico?
Well you will have obviously access to sites like PokerStars that are currently
blocked in the 🎅 US. There’s also the low cost of living compared to the States,
delicious Mexican food, and of course, lots of 🎅 beautiful Latinas!
Probably one of the
top spots to play poker abroad, similar to Thailand in some respects but closer to
🎅 home.
– Is online poker legal in Mexico?
It’s currently legal – for how long is yet to
be determined. The Mexican 🎅 government passed a regulatory gambling bill last year,
which is expected to pass by the end of this year.
PokerRefugees have 🎅 helped over 500
poker players to move abroad.
Unfortunately, the language of the bill is rather
ambiguous, so it’s hard to 🎅 say what this means for the future of players in Mexico. It
does appear that once the law takes effect, 🎅 all online poker played in Mexico will have
to run through Mexican-based servers. It’s unclear whether that will result in
🎅 segregated player pools.
It’s important to note that the law can’t be enforced until
June 2024 at the earliest. Nobody knows 🎅 exactly what’s going to happen after that, so
players will need to stay updated on the latest news.
– Any problems 🎅 accessing poker
sites in Mexico?
Most of the main poker sites are accessible. Paddy Poker has been
blocked off from Mexico 🎅 for a while, but players can still play on the other iPoker
skins.
Bovada has stopped accepting new Mexican accounts, and 🎅 they will eventually lock
your account if you play there. Everything else is open.
– How do you deposit onto /
🎅 cash out from poker sites in Mexico?
There are several ways to deposit, but setting up
a Mexican bank account is 🎅 the best option if you’re planning on staying a while.
Most
people have had good experiences with Santander, where you can 🎅 open an account in
either pesos or USD.
For cashouts from PokerStars, the best option is to cash out to
Skrill, 🎅 and then from Skrill to a Santander peso bank account.
There is a 300-350 peso
fee that doesn’t change significantly based 🎅 on the amount withdrawn.
– Best times to
grind in Mexico?
It mostly depends on what games / sites you like to 🎅 play on, but if
you play across several sites there’s always action somewhere.
Mexico shares time zones
with the US; Rosarito 🎅 and Playa Del Carmen are in Pacific and Central time
respectively.
– Are there taxes on poker winnings in Mexico?
If you’re 🎅 a US resident
and spend at least 330 out of 365 days outside of the country, you qualify for the
🎅 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) from US taxes.
You will still be responsible for
paying taxes to the Mexican government. In 🎅 practice, many people do not pay their taxes
in Mexico, but ultimately it’s a decision you have to make for 🎅 yourself.
Internet &
Banking
– How is internet speed in Mexico?
It can vary depending on where you’re
staying and how your building 🎅 and unit are wired.
It’s best to find a good realtor who
will go around and speedtest different places for you 🎅 before coming down.
Expect to pay
aboutR$40/month for 10 Mbps, andR$75/month for 15-20 Mbps.
It’s important to make sure
your connection has 🎅 a Mexican IP address, and an aircard is highly recommended as well.
Telnor is probably the best company to work 🎅 with.
– Options for mobile internet in
Mexico?
Telcel is the main mobile provider. If you only use it for texting and 🎅 poker,
it will probably cost aroundR$10/month to recharge it; SIM cards cost around the
same.
PokerRefugees video on moving to Mexico 🎅 for online poker
– Any advice on opening
a Mexican bank account / banking in general?
Santander is the best Mexican branch 🎅 to
work with. You will need a passport and utility bill in your name to open an account,
and there’s 🎅 aR$1,000 USD minimum deposit. Wires from Stars to the bank account charge a
5% fee.
Western Union is available at all 🎅 Banamex banks.
Moving to Mexico
– What to say
to border agents if you’re moving for poker? Be honest?
Poker is legal in 🎅 Mexico, so
you shouldn’t have any problems if you’re honest.
That said, it might make your life
simpler to just give 🎅 them your most recent occupation (other than poker), especially
with gambling regulation being in a state of flux there. Similar 🎅 advice as with
entering Canada.
– What’s needed to enter Mexico?
Just a passport for those coming from
the US.
Stays of less 🎅 than 72 hours in the “border zone” (area within 20-30 km of the
border) used to be possible without a 🎅 passport, but that has changed recently.
Poker in
Playa Del Carmen
Portal Maya, Playa Del Carmen
– How would you rate the quality 🎅 of life
in Playa Del Carmen, things to do, safety etc.?
It’s common to see people concerned
about safety when traveling 🎅 anywhere in Mexico comes up, but Playa Del Carmen is
actually quite safe and insulated from most of the drug 🎅 gang activity people tend to
worry about.
There’s lots of cool stuff to do – there’s great diving and snorkeling,
especially 🎅 in the Cenotes. It’s also easy to take a ferry over to Cozumel and go drift
diving.
There’s plenty of great 🎅 shopping, eating, drinking, etc. on 5th Avenue. In
general, there’s lots of fun tourist-oriented things to do everywhere. Also a 🎅 very
walkable city.
Nightlife there is somewhat seasonal, with peak times being roughly
November – February. Some people love the nightlife, 🎅 others aren’t so crazy about it.
There’s a lot of EDM clubs which can be fun, but also loud and 🎅 crowded.
Lots of
attractive girls, some may seem a bit superficial, but it depends on what you go for.
–
What’s the 🎅 cost of living in Playa Del Carmen?
Cost of living varies a lot depending on
what you want. You can get 🎅 by onR$1,000 USD/month, but getting a nice furnished place
in a prime area and enjoying the nightlife regularly can easily 🎅 quadruple that.
The
cost of electricity is kind of a unique issue here that needs to be explained.
Basically, electricity in 🎅 the cheapest places is partially subsidized by the higher-end
rental areas.
That means that if you stay in a very nice 🎅 condo forR$2,500/month, and
you leave the A/C on all the time, you can end up with aR$700+ electric bill.
Diving in
🎅 Cenotes in Mexico
– Any advice for rentals in Playa Del Carmen?
5th Avenue is sort of
the central hub for nightlife 🎅 activity, and a good place to look for rentals. Sometimes
places will pop up there with great-looking prices, but the 🎅 reason ends up being that
it’s near a noisy club with music throbbing all night.
So if you want a place 🎅 that’s
close to the action, make sure to do your due diligence.
– How are the options for live
poker in 🎅 Playa Del Carmen?
There’s not a whole lot to choose from, but there’s
typically at least one 10/20 peso (roughly .5/1 🎅 USD) full ring game running at the
local casino next to the Wal-Mart.
Basically low-stakes, high-rake options where it’s
difficult to 🎅 make any real money.
– How large is the poker community in Playa Del
Carmen?
It’s pretty big; you won’t have much 🎅 trouble finding other poker players to
chill and hang with if you want.
In the 2+2 Playa Del Carmen thread, you 🎅 can give same
basic info about yourself and request to be added to the Skype group if you want; they
🎅 have regular soccer matches and other activities.
Poker in Rosarito
Rosarito Beach
–
What’s life like out in Rosarito?
Rosarito is a small, laid 🎅 back beach town that
appeals to poker expats for a few reasons. It’s only a 1-hour drive from San Diego, 🎅 and
it’s more affordable than most other locations in Mexico.
It’s ideal for anyone who
wants access to PokerStars and other 🎅 US-blocked sites, while still remaining a short
drive/flight from the US.
– What would someone’s living costs out in Rosarito
be?
Someone 🎅 can live here on a budget as low asR$400-500/month if they want. You can
live very comfortably forR$2,000/month.
For something in-between, 🎅 the costs might look
something like:R$500/month rent,R$80/month internet,R$150/month utilities,R$100/month
taxis,R$300/month food. Of course, everyone is different with their personal
preferences 🎅 and so on. (note: all these prices are in USD).
– Tips for finding a place
to stay in Rosarito?
A lot 🎅 of players use Baja123 ( http://baja123/) if they want to
secure a place before coming down, although it’s perfectly feasible 🎅 to just come down
first and start looking.
If you come down first you can probably shave 5-10% off your
rent 🎅 price, but for a lot of people it’s easier to just use a realtor instead of going
through the hassle 🎅 to saveR$50/month.
Fresh tacos in Rosarito
– Much live poker in
Rosarito?
There’s some live poker in Tijuana, which is about a 30-minute 🎅 drive from
Rosarito.
Caliente Casino has a 15/30 peso game that runs most of the time, a 25/50
peso (1,000 buy-in 🎅 minimum) game that runs on busier nights, and once in a while a
50/100 peso game.
– Lastly, how about the 🎅 poker community in Rosarito?
There’s a pretty
solid online poker community in Rosarito due to its price and close proximity to 🎅 the
US.
Although Rosarito is rather small (pop. 60,000) and not particularly known for its
nightlife, a lot of players enjoy 🎅 the combination of calm scenic ocean views, with
occasional partying.
It’s also a short ride over to Tijuana, where there’s plenty 🎅 of
debauchery.
– Anything else you’d like to mention in general on relocating to Mexico
for poker?
Playa Del Carmen is a 🎅 more upscale place, while Rosarito offers more
affordable budget-midrange accommodations. Rosarito’s location makes it very convenient
for anyone who wants 🎅 to visit the US on a regular basis, and its cost of living puts it
within the range of lower 🎅 stakes grinders. It also has some of the best food you’ll
find anywhere in Mexico.
Playa Del Carmen offers higher-end living 🎅 for those with money
to spend, and a bit more diverse range of activities, both for nightlife and the
outdoors. 🎅 Neither really has a lot going for live poker, although Rosarito probably has
the edge here.
The key thing is how 🎅 the gambling regulation reforms develop there. As
of now, both locations are great for live poker, and will be until 🎅 at least June of
2024. After that, it depends on how long it takes the government to start enforcing
regulations, 🎅 and how they go about doing that.
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