30
September
Written by Gordon.
Posted in: Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
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