New Mexico Bingo
Monday, 10. October 2016
New Mexico has a rocky gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with two important local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces 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 accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of operators look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
Posted in Casino by Hudson