02.29
Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important 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 appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby 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 government, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.