New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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