Bingo in New Mexico
Thursday, 1. September 2022
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the panel came to an agreement with 2 big local tribes 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 1995, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as an important issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Angel