Bingo in New Mexico

New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold 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 many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The not for profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.

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