Bingo in New Mexico

New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.