Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured 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 tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying 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, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.