Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed 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 Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.

