New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel came to 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 over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
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