New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
September 21st, 2026
Mohammed
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