03.03
New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.