New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would 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 announced a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found 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 revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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