Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus 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 government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.