New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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