New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a task force in 1990 to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 prominent local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the compact with the American Indian bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, therefore denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers brought in just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Not for profit Bingo revenues have increased constantly since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is certainly favored in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gaming as a key factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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