New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes 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 1995, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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