Bingo in New Mexico
Thursday, 18. February 2021
New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two important 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 seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 State of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Jett