Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the state of New Mexico 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 process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
No comments yet.