New Mexico has a complex gaming background. When the IGRA was passed by the House in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to cash in on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the situation.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to negotiate a compact with New Mexico Indian bands. When the task force arrived at an agreement with two big local tribes a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in Nineteen Ninety Five, it seemed that Indian gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor signed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gambling groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that the Governor had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the government of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the Compact Negotiation Act, signed by the New Mexico government, to get the process moving on a full contract amongst the Government of New Mexico and its Indian bands. 10 years had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, including American Indian casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has increased from 1999. In that year, New Mexico charity game owners brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded one million dollars in 2001. Not for profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five witnessed the greatest year, with $1,233,289 earned by the providers.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of owners look for a piece of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting around gaming as a hot button factor like they did back in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt wishful thinking.
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