Bingo in New Mexico

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New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as an important matter like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.