Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. 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 Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.
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