New Mexico has a rocky gaming past. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a panel in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel came to an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the compact with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the contract up in courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues 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 contract amongst the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. Ten years had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. That year, New Mexico charity game owners acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a key matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s probably hopeful thinking.
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