• Bingo in New Mexico

    New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

    The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

    When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

    It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.

    The not for profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

    Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gaming as a key issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.

     May 5th, 2021  Marques   No comments

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