New Mexico has a bitter gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
This entry was posted on October 22, 2017, 8:25 pm and is filed under Bingo. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.