New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
This entry was posted on January 7, 2026, 8:25 pm 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.