New Mexico has a complex gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in Nineteen Ninety to discuss a contract with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Indian bands, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the accord up in courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as a hot button matter like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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