Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.