Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused 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 American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.