Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gaming background. 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 cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. 10 years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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