Bingo in New Mexico
Monday, 21. June 2021
New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico many 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 process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Olive