New Mexico has a bitter gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to discuss a contract with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the contract with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game providers brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is apparently beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably wishful thinking.
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