Bingo in New Mexico
Friday, 21. April 2023
New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby costing 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, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Alivia