Bingo Tricks

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New Mexico has a stormy gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor 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 required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.