New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the state 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 legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.