New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.