New Mexico has a rocky gambling background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino craze. Politics assured that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native bands, anti-gaming groups were able to hold the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. 2005 saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a bit of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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