Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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