New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus 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, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.