Bingo in New Mexico

September 10th, 2015 by Isabel Leave a reply »
[ English ]

New Mexico has a stormy gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two important 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 Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely hopeful thinking.

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