Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor 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 wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.