New Mexico Bingo

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New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor 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 a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.

Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.