11.06
New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in the 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 hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.