Bingo in New Mexico

[ English ]

New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the working group came to an accord with 2 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-wagering groups were able to tie the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting around gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.

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