New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
This entry was posted on May 23, 2026, 3:25 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.