Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
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