New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. 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 Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in 1990 to create a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined 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 Native gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game owners brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a bit of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are through batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
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