Bingo Tricks

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gaming 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 a deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.