Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying 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, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.