New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
This entry was posted on January 30, 2026, 12:25 am and is filed under Casino. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.