Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to negotiate an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.