Bingo

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

New Mexico has a rocky gambling past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create an accord with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group arrived at an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has increased since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.

Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicians are done batting over gaming as a hot button matter like they did in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.