New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying 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 process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.