Bingo in New Mexico
Posted in Bingo on 11/26/2016 11:25 am by Eileen
New Mexico has a bitter gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.