New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. 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 gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.