• Home

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. 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 bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

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

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

The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.

Log in