Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with two big local tribes 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.