Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 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 1995, it seemed that Native betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus costing the government of New Mexico many 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 process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
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