Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.