09.13
New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a key matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.
No Comment.
Add Your Comment