Bingo in New Mexico
Monday, 17. February 2020
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby 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 contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Franco