New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress 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 appointed a task force in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
This entry was posted on May 29, 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.