New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.