New Mexico has a stormy gaming history. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to draft a compact with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thus denying 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 house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired only $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the owners.
Bingo is categorically popular in New Mexico. All types of owners look for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
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