New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government 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 legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.