New Mexico has a stormy gambling past. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor 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 Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
February 5th, 2021
Alvin
Leave a reply