Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.
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