New Mexico has a complex gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thereby denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has grown from Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired only $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is certainly popular in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 1990’s. That is without doubt hopeful thinking.
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