New Mexico Bingo

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

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.

Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.