Bingo Tricks

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 seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.