Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two 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 appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of providers look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.
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