New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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