New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the panel came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the compact with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the deal, thereby denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo industry has increased since 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All sorts of operators try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as an important factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s most likely hopeful thinking.
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