New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.