Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming 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 deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.