New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a panel in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the task force came to an agreement with 2 important local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Native gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Indian bands, anti-gaming forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators acquired just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the operators.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gambling as a key factor like they did in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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