Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, 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 Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with two 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.