New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many 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 Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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