New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.