Bingo in New Mexico
Posted in Casino on 03/19/2024 05:25 am by Marc
New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed 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 panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands 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 Amerindian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.