Bingo in New Mexico
Saturday, 8. July 2017
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
Posted in Bingo by Taryn