03.10
Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government 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 State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.