Bingo in New Mexico
Wednesday, 22. March 2023
New Mexico has a stormy gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, 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 case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Gwendolyn