New Mexico Bingo
Posted in Casino on 01/31/2024 12:25 am by Jarrett
New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the working group came to an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a key issue like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.