Bingo in New Mexico
Tuesday, 1. December 2015
New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in Nineteen Ninety to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed 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, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Ricky