New Mexico Bingo
Thursday, 21. February 2019
New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Alivia