New Mexico Bingo
Thursday, 10. March 2016
New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two important local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Lance