New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. 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 bandwagon. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees 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 compact amongst the State of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a bit of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting around gaming as an important matter like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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