Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.