Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a key matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.