Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.