Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the government of New Mexico 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 compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
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