New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing 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 contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In 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 revenues have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.