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Bingo in New Mexico

New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Native casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.

The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force arrived at an accord with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.

When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-gaming 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 deal, therefore denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.

It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.

The non-profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.

Bingo is clearly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of providers look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button matter like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.

Posted in Bingo.


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