New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.