Bingo in New Mexico
Friday, 25. October 2019
New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
Posted in Bingo by Taryn