Bingo in New Mexico
Posted in Casino on 05/19/2026 11:25 pm by Anthony
New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.