Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused 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 Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, 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 the compact, thus costing 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.