New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.