New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.