Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.