11.25
Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gambling history. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a task force in 1990 to draft a compact with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important local bands a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
No Comment.
Add Your Comment