New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Native casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a working group in 1990 to create an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the task force came to an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Native gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the accord with the Native tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has grown from 1999. In that year, New Mexico not for profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of providers try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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