Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King 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 Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many 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 ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.