Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a key issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.