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Bingo in New Mexico

August 25th, 2020 at 19:25
[ English ]

New Mexico has a complex gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico American Indian tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. 10 years had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.

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