Bingo in New Mexico
Sunday, 5. February 2017
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many 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 compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Jett