New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.