New Mexico Bingo
New Mexico has a bitter gaming history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in Nineteen Eighty Nine, it seemed like New Mexico would be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino bandwagon. Politics assured that would not be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a task force in Nineteen Ninety to create a contract with New Mexico Native bands. When the working group arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, the Governor declined to sign the bargain. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took over in 1995, it appeared that Indian gambling in New Mexico was a certainty. But when Governor Gary Johnson passed the contract with the Native tribes, anti-gaming groups were able to tie the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had out stepped his bounds in signing the accord, thus costing the government of New Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico government, to get the ball rolling on a full accord between the Government of New Mexico and its Amerindian tribes. 10 years had been burned for gaming in New Mexico, including Amerindian casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has increased from 1999. That year, New Mexico non-profit game owners brought in only $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in revenues in 2001. Non-profit Bingo revenues have grown steadily since then. Two Thousand and Five saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the operators.
Bingo is categorically favored in New Mexico. All types of owners try for a bit of the pie. Hopefully, the politicos are through batting over gambling as a hot button issue like they did in the 1990’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.
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