New Mexico has a rocky gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by Congress in 1989, it looked 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 case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to draft an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the panel arrived at an agreement with two important local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Indian tribes, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that the Governor had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus costing the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full accord between the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The nonprofit Bingo business has increased since 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game operators brought in only $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed a million dollars in revenues in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since that time. 2005 witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners try for a piece of the pie. Hopefully, the politicians are done batting around gambling as an important issue like they did in the 90’s. That is probably wishful thinking.
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