New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
This entry was posted on October 7, 2023, 11:25 am 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.