Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a stormy gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would 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 appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.