Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA 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 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 Native bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands 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 appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.