New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.