Bingo in New Mexico
Posted in Casino on 03/26/2026 11:25 pm by Jarrett
New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.