Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord 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 office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.