Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important 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 office in 1995, it seemed that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.