New Mexico has a bitter gaming background. When the IGRA 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 craze. Politics assured that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King assembled a panel in 1990 to create a compact with New Mexico Amerindian tribes. When the working group came to an agreement with two prominent local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Amerindian betting in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the American Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the accord up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing a deal, thereby denying the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the ball rolling on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Native tribes. A decade had been lost for gaming in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico charity game operators acquired just $3,048. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and passed a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased steadily since then. 2005 witnessed the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All sorts of owners try for a piece of the pie. With hope, the politicos are done batting over gambling as a key factor like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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