Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a stormy gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. 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 office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
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