Bingo in New Mexico

New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, 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, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.

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