Bingo in New Mexico
Posted in Casino on 10/09/2025 07:25 pm by Esperanza
New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.