New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering 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 deal, thereby 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, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.