New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
