New Mexico seeks halt to illegal greyhound betting

The New Mexico Gaming Control Board earlier this month sent a cease and desist letter to a North Dakota-based company to request it stop offering greyhound racing bets to New Mexico residents. 

Lien Games Racing is a wagering company that allows people from across the country to place bets on races. The company allowed New Mexico residents to bet on greyhound races even though wagering on greyhound races has been illegal in the state since 2022, according to gaming officials. 

According to the North Dakota Racing Commission licensee list, the company operates through at least six betting platforms. Lien Games Racing did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but state officials said it would stop accepting bets from New Mexicans.

The letter, issued March 4, states the gaming board was made aware of wagers Lien Games Racing was offering and told the company the bets do not abide by state laws.

NMGCB threatened to take legal action and said it would attempt to prevent the company from obtaining a gaming license in the state if the company didn’t stop taking New Mexicans’ bets on greyhound races.

“Wagers on dog races and online gaming are not permitted in New Mexico,” the letter states. “Because the type of wagering offered by Lien Games Racing, LLC is not permitted in New Mexico, you are hereby ordered to immediately cease and desist making such activity available in New Mexico.”

Michelle Pato, senior staff council at NMGCB, said Lien Games Racing responded to the letter and said they would comply and discontinue offering greyhound racing bets in New Mexico.

“We are really pleased with the result,” Pato said. “We’re glad we were able to make this happen.”

In 2025, nonprofit organization GREY2K USA became suspicious of the company and had volunteers set up accounts to document illegal gambling. One of those accounts attempted to bet from New Mexico on a greyhound race in Australia and emailed Lien Games Racing to ask if  it would accept the wager.

“Hi — we do accept wagering on both horses and greyhounds from the state of New Mexico,” the company wrote in an email.

Shortly after, GREY2K USA took those emails, along with other documents, to the NMGCB. 

“They have essentially ignored state laws in states like New Mexico, where greyhound betting is not legal,” said Carey Theil, executive director of GREY2K USA, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to passing strong greyhound protection laws and ending the racing of the dogs.

“For this company to just ignore New Mexico laws and offer this kind of disreputable gambling is really shocking,” he said. 

Greyhound racing is “cruel and inhumane” and many of the dogs get injured on the racetrack or are forced to consume drugs to help with performance, Thiel said. He said he applauded NMCGB for stepping up and protecting consumers from illegal gambling.

Pato said the agency needed to investigate and verify that Lien Games Racing accepted illegal bets, given that some gambling websites allow people to access the site but not bet on certain types of races if they are illegal in their state. 

“This one you could, and that's what prompted us to send the letter, because we found that it was being made available to individuals and entities within the state of New Mexico,” she said.

New Mexico isn’t the only state attempting to rein in illegal betting from out-of-state companies. In 2025, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office issued a similar cease and desist letter, requesting that Lien Games Racing halt its facilitation of unlicensed greyhound betting. 

Numerous other states have banned greyhound racing or have begun to phase out the races. By 2029, greyhound gambling will only be legal in 14 states.

Other countries across the world, such as New Zealand and Scotland, are in the process of outlawing it as well.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.