Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.