New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group 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, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that American Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the accord with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. Ten years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
This entry was posted on September 5, 2023, 7:25 am and is filed under Casino. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.