Bingo

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.