New Mexico has a rocky gambling history. When the IGRA was signed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Native casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a contract with New Mexico Amerindian bands. When the panel arrived at an agreement with 2 big local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Amerindian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to tie the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the deal, thus denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, which includes American Indian casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of operators look for a slice of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as an important issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s most likely wishful thinking.
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