Bingo Strategy

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New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, 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 announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with 2 prominent 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 office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is apparently favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.