Bingo Tricks

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New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.

The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.