Casino Tricks

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New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the IGRA 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 would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.