10.18
Bingo in New Mexico
New Mexico has a complex gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the Amerindian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to discuss an accord with New Mexico Indian tribes. When the task force came to an accord with 2 big local tribes a year later, Governor King refused to sign the bargain. He would hold up a deal until Nineteen Ninety Four.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that American Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson signed the accord with the Indian bands, anti-wagering forces were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the compact, thus denying the state of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It required the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full accord amongst the State of New Mexico and its Amerindian bands. A decade had been lost for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has gotten bigger since 1999. In that year, New Mexico non-profit game owners acquired just $3,048 in revenues. This number grew to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have increased constantly since that time. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is apparently popular in New Mexico. All types of operators look for a slice of the pie. With hope, the politicos are through batting over gaming as an important matter like they did back in the 1990’s. That is probably hopeful thinking.
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