New Mexico Bingo
Tuesday, 23. February 2016
New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. 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 cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, 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 house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded 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 providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
Posted in Bingo by Taryn