Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed 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 task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gambling 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 hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many 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 accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.