18
October
Written by Lily.
Posted in: Bingo
New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took 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. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting around gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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