Casino Tips

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused 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 Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled 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 fees over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.