New Mexico Bingo
Posted in Bingo on 05/19/2026 05:25 pm by Eileen
New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined 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 American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.