New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would 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 task force in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.