The Las Vegas Raiders have named Team México as the franchise's official sports betting partner in Mexico, kicking off a multi-year push to court one of the NFL's largest fan bases outside the United States. The deal, which covers the 2026-27 season, pairs the Silver and Black with a sportsbook brand built around a roster of Mexican celebrity ambassadors, including boxing legend Julio César Chávez.
The partnership, first reported by FOX5 Las Vegas, was confirmed by Team México founder Marlon Magallon, who said the arrangement capitalizes on the deep loyalty of local football fans. Beyond Chávez, Team México plans to integrate its celebrity ambassador network into promotional campaigns featuring media personality Iván Fematt, known as “La Mole,” digital creator Werevertumorro, and media personality Adrián Marcelo. The two sides plan to roll out joint initiatives, interactive promotions, and live fan experiences across Mexico throughout the season, according to the same report.
A Franchise With Deep Roots South of the Border
The Raiders' Mexico ties didn't start with this sponsorship. The franchise has one of the NFL's largest and most devoted international followings in the country, a connection that dates back to a Monday Night Football matchup at Estadio Azteca, where the Raiders beat the Houston Texans 27-20 on November 21, 2016 — the first regular-season NFL game ever played outside the United States, according to Raiders.com. The team returned to Estadio Azteca for a second Mexico City game in 2017 against New England.
That history helps explain why the Raiders were among the initial franchises awarded marketing rights in Mexico when the NFL launched its Global Markets Program in January 2022, per NFL Football Operations. The program lets individual franchises secure commercial and marketing rights in foreign countries, and Mexico now counts 10 participating NFL teams in 2026. The Raiders have since expanded well past Mexico, adding marketing rights in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates in March 2026, on top of existing footholds in Australia and New Zealand, per Raiders.com.
League-Wide Betting Deal Landed One Day Earlier
The timing of the Team México announcement is notable given what happened just a day before it. On September 10, 2026, Codere Online signed a multi-year deal to become the official league-wide sports betting partner of the NFL in Mexico, a separate arrangement that includes rights to Super Bowl LXI and official league marks in the country, according to Casino.org. That league-level deal is distinct from what the Raiders struck with Team México — the NFL grants overarching, league-wide gambling rights to operators like Codere Online, while individual franchises with designated international rights can independently negotiate their own regional sponsorships with domestic operators, per the same report.
The Raiders also leaned into cultural programming to court their Mexican fan base. On September 4, 2026, the team launched Corazón de Plata y Negro, a telenovela-inspired digital content series produced specifically for the season launch, released under the umbrella of the Global Markets Program, according to a release carried by PR Newswire.
Mexico's Booming, and Shifting, Betting Market
The commercial rush into Mexico tracks a fast-growing digital gambling market. Mexico's online gambling market is valued at $0.97 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $1.09 billion by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of 8.60%, according to Mordor Intelligence, with high smartphone penetration and digital payment adoption cited as key drivers. Sports betting is the largest segment of that market, accounting for roughly half of all online gaming revenue in 2025-2026, per Grand View Research, while online casino gaming ranks as the second-largest digital gambling segment.
That growth comes alongside a shifting regulatory and tax landscape. Gambling and sports betting in Mexico are federally regulated by the Ministry of the Interior, known as SEGOB, and its General Directorate of Games and Lotteries under the 1947 Federal Law of Games and Lotteries, according to LegalBison, which notes all commercial sportsbooks must secure explicit SEGOB authorization. In 2026, Mexican federal tax policy raised the Special Tax on Production and Services excise rate on casino and gaming operations from 30% to 50% of gross gaming revenue, according to SiGMA World, a change passed through federal revenue updates without amending the underlying 1947 gaming law.
Live Games Are Returning Too
The commercial expansion arrives just ahead of the NFL's on-field return to Mexico. The league is set to host regular-season action there on November 22, 2026, when the San Francisco 49ers meet the Minnesota Vikings at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City, per Casino.org's report. League games in Mexico had been paused after 2022 while Estadio Azteca underwent renovations ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
For the Raiders, the Team México partnership is squarely about expanding the franchise's presence in the country, layering a sportsbook sponsorship and celebrity-driven marketing on top of a fan base the team has cultivated for a decade. With Codere Online now holding the league's broader betting rights and Mexico's online wagering market continuing to climb, the coming season figures to test how far team-level and league-level commercial deals can coexist in one of the NFL's most closely watched international markets.
