New Mexico Bingo
Wednesday, 18. February 2026
New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Allisson