Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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