New Mexico Bingo
Wednesday, 1. November 2023
New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor 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 appeared that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Allisson