Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.