Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.