Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.