Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars 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 earned by the providers.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.