New Mexico Bingo
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 Indian casino bandwagon. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the task force came to an accord with 2 important local bands a year later, the Governor refused to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it appeared that Amerindian wagering in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full compact between the State of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been squandered for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. In that year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is certainly beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of operators try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicians are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did back in the 90’s. That is most likely wishful thinking.
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