New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups 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, therefore costing the state 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 house, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.