New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.