Bingo

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.