New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the working group came to an agreement with 2 prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Native betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, 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 ball rolling on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry 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 passed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is clearly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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