05
March
Written by Cyrus.
Posted in: Casino
New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with 2 big 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 Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
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