Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.