Casino Strategy

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. 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 Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. 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 now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many 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 ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.