New Mexico Bingo
Sunday, 31. May 2020
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate an accord with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Lance