New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a stormy gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with two big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.